A very hard film to review, a film clearly of the "faith" genre so well produced, acted, directed, cast that it literally pulls at its own leash and tries to cross over into the mainstream.

Also lost in the shuffle is the fact that the "mystery" evangelist who appears out of nowhere and sparks the story fathered two sons who .. big coincidence here.. produced the movie.

A wonderful performance by Voight who frankly we take too much for granted. Compare his work here to Ray Dovovan and you will wonder if you are looking at the same actor.

A film is in many ways the ultimate recipe for a soufflé. Leave it in the oven a few minutes too long and it falls.

The irony is that with a little more judicious editing, a little less preaching, the objective of a true crossover might have been achieved.

WOODLAWN is a fact and faith based drama directed by Andrew and Jon Erwin. Jon helps co-write this narrative of a struggling high school coach Tandy Gerelds(Nic Nishop)as he tries with all his resources to bring a newly integrated football team together. Birmingham, Alabama in the early 1970's is suffering racial tension and strife weighing heavily on a football team yearning for a championship and a school just trying not to be dismantled for good.

Coach Gerelds is asked by a motivating sports chaplain Hank(Sean Astin)for permission to talk to the entire team with a radical idea; a ten minute talk became a two hour session that had the majority of the team give themselves over to the word of Christ. Challenges are being met and racial tensions on the team tone down with the team actually becoming winners. One player in particular, running back Tony Nathan(Caleb Castille),becomes confident that God has a special plan for him. The team becomes explosive with Nathan's playing exploits which are noticed by Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant(Jon Voight).

Christianity will play a major role in this story as the team begins to succeed and racial barriers are broken down; that in turn helps Gereld's struggle with the secular school board. Tony's star will shine brighter and brighter. To be exact, Nathan ended up playing for Coach Bryant at Alabama.

Real nice hard hitting football action along with a decent soundtrack featuring "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan and "Jesus Is Just Alright" by the Doobie Brothers.

Also in the cast: C. Thomas Howell, Richard Kohnke, Blake Burgess, Kelly Grayson, Harry Alexander, Joy Brunson and Stephen Chester Prince.

NOTE: Tony Nathan would go from playing four years for the Tide to the NFL Miami Dolphins from 1979 to 1987. He would establish himself an allusive running back and pass receiver.

Woodlawn is easily the best faith-based film I've ever seen (one not based on a bible story, that is). The film details the true story of the Woodlawn High School football team in 1973 Birmingham, Alabama, the year the school integrated, and how this team helped bring the whole school together by all of the players accepting Christ. This is a story that could have easily been ham-fisted, but the Erwin Brothers (the directors of the film) manage to keep the film from ever being too sappy or preachy. All of the preaching of the film comes naturally from the characters and who they are, which is a problem with most faith-based films. Characters will often transform into philosophical sages when the filmmakers feel it is time to preach, and I think that just comes across as cheesy and not authentic to non-believers and some believers. Luckily, Woodlawn avoids that pitfall in its script, which could have been a little stronger in some areas (in particular in character depth and their motivations),but unlike most faith-based films, the good outweighs the bad here. Featuring some truly moving moments and a slew of well-realized football sequences, Woodlawn is a faith- based film I actually want to recommend.

I give Woodlawn an 8 out of 10!