By Amanda Gilmore
In 1955, Veteran JB Peña (Jay Hernandez) and his wife move to the small town of Del Rio, Texas. He gets hired as the school district’s superintendent. It’s there that he sees a glimpse of himself reflected in a group of five Mexican-American students. The students work as caddies outside school hours. JB catches them playing the sport one night and relishes in their potential. He offers them the chance to be the school’s first golf team. The rest is history.
Based on the true story and critically acclaimed self-published book by Author Humberto G., The Long Game is an uplifting underdog story. It’s a story of finding ones worth in a world that repeatedly puts you down. These five young men face racism every day. They’re unwelcome in local restaurants and are put down by the white men they caddy for. Director Julio Quintana brings us into their world, reminding us of the time in which these men lived.
Some might think that we’ve seen this story before, but not quite like this. It’s told through the love of golf. Each of the young men loves the sport and are wildly talented at it. Quintana tells us all we need to know about the sport and delves into the camaraderie of the teammates. His Cast of young Actors is outstanding. Their energy is palpable and they hit each beat with nuance and precision. The stand-out is up-and-coming Julian Works who plays Joe, the leader of the group that carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. Hernandez also shines as a man willing to stop at nothing to see these young men succeed.
Although this story is formulaic, it delivers an uplifting poignant story of five young Mexican-Americans that we won’t ever forget.
The Long Game screens at SXSW ’23 as follows:
Mar 12 at 11:45am at Paramount Theatre
Mar 15 at 5:45pm at Rollins Theatre at The Long Center
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