We Are Marshall

Right now you can watch We Are Marshall on Starz Amazon Channel — and it holds up to as much attention as you give it. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. 798 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Matthew McConaughey sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. Put it on tonight on Starz Amazon Channel and see for yourself.

We Are Marshall arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The writing in We Are Marshall treats its characters as people first, plot devices second. When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive. Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2006. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping everything up in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

We Are Marshall is what you recommend to people who say they do not really watch much. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Matthew McConaughey carries the material with a performance that rewards close attention. Worth starting sooner rather than later.