Watch McFarland, USA For Free

Wonderful Movie

Captivating movie !

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The synopsis of this movie will probably make you think it's a cheesy Disney movie about a washed up teacher who makes a difference to his bad-boy students. It's not that movie. It's a fantastic, moving, inspiring tale that you'll want to buy and add to your collection.Kevin Costner plays a fired high school football coach with nowhere else to go but McFarland, USA, the poorest town in America in 1987. The kids there have no hope and no motivation, because before and after school they're out in tomato or lettuce fields helping their parents pick produce. They're not going to college; they'll become pickers when they graduate.Costner sees his kids running after school and comes up with the idea of creating a cross country team. With no funding, no support, and no clue what he's doing, he starts training the kids.The cross country portions of the film are exciting and fun to watch, but there's a lot more to this movie than the plot I just outlined. Costner and his family learn to make their new house their home, and this half of the film is interesting, tension-filled, and heartwarming. It's terribly sad to see the state of the town and how the poor residents survive, when the rest of America is thriving. Costner's character is unaware of their struggle when he first arrives, as most of the viewers will be, but as he gets to know his neighbors and bonds with the community, he (and we) are exposed to their cultural traditions.If you're not drawn to the movie because of the sports, or the inspirational story, or because you like true stories, or you like Kevin Costner, I'll give you one more reason to watch it: Maria Bello's costumes. I've never seen her look so pretty, and she wears the most darling outfits! But seriously, watch McFarland, USA. It's incredibly moving to watch how one teacher impacted a community and inspired a group of boys to look higher up than an agricultural field.

A coach inspiring a group of underprivileged kids to form a team to beat well-heeled rivals has been done before, but "McFarland, USA" does it well. Set in the 1980's, Jim White (Kevin Costner) takes a job as assistant sports coach at McFarland High, a mainly Hispanic school in Los Angeles. However the area seems too dangerous for his wife and young daughter, while scholastic achievement and prowess on the sporting field are not priorities for the students, many of whom work in the surrounding fields as pickers to help their families. However when White realises that some of his students are strong runners, he creates a cross-country running team to take on the wealthier schools that dominate the sport. Then as White and his family get to know the people in the area, they feel a sense of belonging, which they hadn't felt before. The film builds to an emotional, uplifting climax. Although a fair amount of rearranging of the facts took place, it is reassuring to learn that the story is essentially true. The film gets its message across without being preachy. At the end, when the actors segue into the real people, the theme behind the film becomes clear; if you can engage people and focus them on a goal and build self-esteem then they are more likely to become the citizens you want. This is a movie that sneaks up on you. Kevin Costner plays it low-key. One can see how an overly effusive approach to teaching would in reality have seemed fake to students wary of anything false. Maria Bello is perfect as Cheryl Whitel it's not a big role but she lifts any film she is in. Valente Rodriguez almost steals the show as the likable Principal Carmillo. Long distance running takes on an almost mystical significance in movies. Possibly the link with cross country-running, the endurance required and the sense of achievement it generates was one of the reasons nearly all the boys in Coach White's squad went on to lead meaningful lives. A football team or a baseball team would also have had a galvanising effect, but endurance sports are different – it could have a lot to do with endorphins cutting in creating a natural high and great self-confidence. McFarland is a movie with a heart; it's a winner all round.

This is one of the most engaging true stories I have ever seen. Kevin Costner plays a coach who gets fired and moves to a small town in California to coach football, and winds up forming the school's first ever cross country team. Costner was good in the role. It details his relationship with his family and the kids on the team, and inevitably how his dedication to his new job takes a toll on his family life. My favorite scenes were the practice scenes, the actual tournament scenes, the part where they see the ocean, the quicenerra scene, the part where the daughter is involved in a car accident, and the opening scene that makes him change jobs. If you are into true inspirational sports stories-this is the movie for you!*** out of ****

It's not easy to make this real life stories feel ... real. So while this moves along smoothly and makes it seem easy, it's not as easy to pull it off most of the time. Kevin Costner is no stranger to sports dramas of course and he makes a strong lead. But it's not only him who makes the movie work, it's the other actors too.You'd also have to have a heart of stone not to be touched by some of the very genuine moments in this. At the end, we also see the real people and what happened to them. It's predictable most of the time, but that doesn't take away anything from it or the impact it has on the viewer (those who let themselves dive in).