Buzz McClain Reviews Rugby Movie ‘Play On’
Another year, another rugby movie. Another American rugby movie. The rest of the world’s rugby-playing countries should be ashamed for not even attempting to keep up with our output.
(Come on, New Zealand, whatchu got?)
Joining recent feature films “Forever Strong” and “Invictus” — not to mention the non-fiction “A Giant Awakens” and “Try” — is “Play On,” an ambitious, globe-trotting independent movie that, while not exactly ideal cinema, is a workmanlike labor of love with enough blue collar, raw-boned, rugby-themed charm as to garner genuine goodwill among those who will forgive the obvious budgetary constraints and momentary lapses in continuity.
Written by Albert Dekin and David Story, and directed by Story, “Play On” lives up to its rugby bona fides, with both Dekin (a backline player) and Story (front row) clocking in considerable time on Division I U.S. clubs and Eagles. Their experience shows in every scene, and recreational rugby players from anywhere on the planet will nod their heads when they hear frighteningly familiar lines imparted with realistic ease by a cast of mixed professionals and would-be pros.
The action begins in Edinburgh, on Murrayfield no less, during a test match in which Finlay Kilgour (Chard Hayward) seals his reputation as one of Scotland’s greatest players ever. A miller by profession, Finlay is proud to have played in pre-professional rugby – the game was all-amateur around the world until 1995 – and he’s content being a quiet folk hero.