The story of the Marshall football team that all died in a tragic plane crash is the subject of this great movie. What happens to a town that is centered around a college and loses so much? How does a town and a college move forward after such a tragedy? Simply, rebuild the football team and get things back to normal.

This is a feel good movie in the sense of Remember the Titans but is not Disneyfied as that one was. Instead, We are Marshall gives us all reason to move on from tragedy that occurs with no reason in sight. Bringing a town back together, as well as a college, reminds us of how we can bring our own relationships back together with the appropriate amount of healing through normalcy.

Matthew McConaughey plays the new coach brought in to lead this team, finding new coaches and players to create a new team for the coming season. McConaughey is excellent as the naïve new head coach. He has the excitement of a small time coach looking for more, as well as the depth to show the need to move on although not fully understanding the situation of this tiny town. I’ve never seen him play a character so well since probably A Time to Kill.

Other supporting actors were also perfectly cast. Matthew Fox as the lone surviving assistant coach (although I couldn’t help but see Jack Shepherd from Lost being the reluctant leader) and the impressive David Strathairn who shines as the president of the university. Surprisingly, McG, the director of this film, who previously was a music video director and director of Charlie’s Angels knew how to capture the excitement of football as well as the mourning of a town.

The music wasn’t so hot unfortunately creating crescendos when instead we needed mourning. I rarely see music hurt a movie, but this one did. It completely shifted the flow of the movie. But the mistake ultimately takes a back door when the rest was so good. By the end, the viewer wants to stand with the university and chant…”We are…Marshall.”