Winning

Media:	DVD
Directed by:	James Goldstone
Starring:	Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward
Release date:	28 December, 2004
List price:	~~$9.99~~
Our price:	$8.99 that is 10% off!

Winning

Average rating: Stars

Winning Reaches For Depth Of Feeling

I picked this one up recently. I hadn't seen it since it was released. It was a very quiet film that came and went quickly. Set behind the backdrop of car racing- it may have sent mixed signals about what audience it was trying to reach.

This is a character study piece- a story about a racer who doesn't have a personal life because of that life, and about a single mother with a teenaged son, who goes to work and comes home each night.

They meet after Newman has run and won a race in town- and after he stumbles across her after a party, just as she is closing her rent a car outlet for the night.

What follows is a very quiet, easy going courtship that spends its screen time building slowly and beautifully. We, as the audience, are allowed to see the occasional scar and barrier revealed and dropped with these characters. Newman and Woodward are really the only acting couple I've ever watched, who pull magic off 'on screen'. I think it's the reason why most try once or don't try at all. This film captured something very difficult to portray: honesty and finding a way through the hurtles. Perhaps they were tipping some of us off on how to do it- and showing why they've lasted so long together as a couple.

The racing, via Goldstone's direction, is done almost as visual poetry in the background. It's done in such a way as to never overpower the story of this family coming together. Terrifically handled. Dave Gruisin's score also sets the tone during both the racing sequences, and the emotional moments.

Richard Thomas is amazing as Charlie, the teenager. Watching him reach out to bond to Newman as a stepfather is nothing short of special. Father's and son's will love this because that's the way it should be- it's the kind of bond and loyalty that should form. And mothers will smile.

Robert Wagner is also terrific in what is really the toughest part of this film. His friendship/rivalry is portrayed with depth and he delivers in spades. Normally these roles are delivered, black and white. Wagner shows us levels with a character's pain and honesty that's realized a little too late.

Newman and Woodward have it all to play, here. The high and the low and they carry it off with a grace and ease. They also have an ending that's 'real'. It's up to them... and to us as the audience.

This is one for couples to watch and to learn from. Another hidden gem and a real story for an audience looking for some depth of feeling.

Highly recommended.

Winning - Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward

not top notch, nut still worth seeing

This movie is often mentioned as a member of the great pantheon of classic race movies, and it does belong there but it is more of a bottom feeder compared to "Grand Prix" and certainly "Le Mans". It is not the quality of the race footage or the throughout great performances of Newman, Woodward, and a very junior Richard Thomas, impressive on his movie debut. It is more the script that is the problem, and the movie lacks crucial time in the beginning to develop the characters and their relationships. Robert Wagner is a weak link in this movie since he never establishes himself as the friend and rival of the Newman character Frank Capua, and the whole delivery of his part in the affair with Capua's wife is weak. Where "Le Mans" does very much with little words, this movie sometimes fails to establish the relationship drama in key scenes, yet is very touching at times.
The track drama on the other hand is captured flawlessly, and the viewer gets some very interesting impressions on how the Indy 500 were run in the late 60ies, just before the hayday of the snakepit. With the right level of expectation this is an enjoyable movie, and the quality of the DVD leaves nothing to desire.

Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward - Winning

Not as bad as Driven

Maybe it's because I watched this movie within days of the astoundingly great "Grand Prix", but I though "Winning" was a shambles of a movie. The thin plot barely made sense, and a the few stylized "racing" sequences weren't worth the time it takes to watch them. I like Paul Newman, but his performance in "Cool Hand Luke" was far better.
I'm hopeful that Le Mans will be better than this movie, which was edited with a sawzall.