12 Mighty Orphans Review: One For The Ages
By Isabella Wilson
When "12 Mighty Orphans" and its introductory framing sequence begin, with its overwrought narration delivered in Sheen's homespun brio, arriving in media res to halftime at an unknown championship game, one would be forgiven for being wary of what might follow. The film's opening possesses all the weaknesses of Roberts' last film, a sort of "There Will Be Blood" by way of "The Great Gatsby" called "The Iron Orchard." It was a beautiful-looking film whose production quality exceeded its meager budget, but no amount of melodramatic cross-cutting or ambitious visual experimentation could overcome a crummy script and mediocre cast.
But from the moment Wilson arrives onscreen, looking so much older and wiser he initially resembles a softer Mark Strong, the film proves to have all the heart and earnestness Roberts' other cinematic outings lacked.
Every sports movie has a set of well-worn tropes to establish, but "12 Mighty Orphans" does it all with a sturdy efficiency. Not long after meeting Rusty and introducing the Masonic Home, we meet the film's primary antagonist: Frank, a scummy and abusive headmaster played by Wayne Knight who doesn't want the orphans to have a football program because practice would get in the way of their current vocation — specifically, being endlessly exploited for his personal profit.
It's not like there isn't significant resistance from the kids themselves, all high school-age teens who can't fathom a world that sees them as anything other than grist for the mill. It's a big cast to get to know, with each of the young performers availing themselves quite well, but none more than Jake Austin Walker's firing turn as Hardy Brown, a new prospect dropped off at the home covered in his dead father's blood who doesn't want to be a part of a football team, much less have to accept being abandoned by his mother. Though the teammates are all a little broadly drawn, the kids' chemistry with one another, and with their coach, is too engrossing to get hung up on the lack of originality in the story's structure.
Sheen's Hall is a welcome presence, making a great foil for Wilson's Rusty as both comic relief and a sweet-natured counterpoint to his stoic nature. The two men, together, come off like concerned parents of a group of kids no one else even treats like actual kids anymore. This emotional connection is bolstered by the dramatic reveal that Rusty himself was an orphan, one who survived the first World War and temporary blindness only to dedicate himself to being the kind of figure he wishes he could have had in his youth.
There are, it must be said, a few Hail Marys in the film's structure that fumble its otherwise sturdy streak of crowd-pleasing dramaturgy, chiefly the decision to repeatedly intercut flashbacks to the war with scenes of the kids on the field. It's designed to show how Rusty's experiences in the trenches shape his mind for game strategy, including many innovations to the sport still prevalent today. But man, do they read as melodramatic and tone-deaf in a film that otherwise strikes the right balance between sentimentality and pragmatism.
When it's at its best, "12 Mighty Orphans" is every bit as cathartic and entertaining as something like "Remember the Titans," but in its few missteps, it could be mistaken for a parody of that type of picture. Luckily, however, like that modern classic, it has a strong central performance anchoring it at its core.
