February 28, 2016 -- This is a drama about the life of Jesse Owens, one of the greatest track and field athletes in history, and the controversies that swirled around him at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This film covers a few years of his life, from the start of his college career through the Olympics a few years later.

Besides Owens, a number of other famous people related to the Olympics are featured in this movie, including Joseph Goebbels (played by Barnaby Metschurat), Leni Riefenstahl (Carice van Houten) and Avery Brundage (Jeremy Irons). Owens is played by Stephan James of “Selma.” Goebbels was the minister of propaganda for the Nazi Party and Riefenstahl was a ground breaking filmmaker for the Nazis. Avery Brundage was head of the American Olympic Committee, and later became head of the International Olympic Committee, a post he held for 20 years ending in 1972.

A lot of this film is devoted to the relationship between Owens and his track coach at Ohio State, Larry Snyder (played by Jason Sudeikis of “We're the Millers”). When Owens applies to Ohio State, Snyder of skeptical of Owens' ability to take the pressure of racism at Ohio State, and his work ethic. Owens tells Snyder that hard work won't be a problem because he had been picking cotton since he was a child. Asked why he didn't choose a more “enlightened” school than Ohio State, Owens replied he applied at Ohio State because he wanted to train with the best track coach, and he heard that Snyder was the best.

Since Owens didn't have a scholarship, he worked at a gas station for money, and he sent money home to support his daughter. He also didn't get to stay in the same hotels or eat at the same restaurants as the rest of the team due to segregation. He and other blacks also were harassed by the Ohio State football team. Football was the most important sport at Ohio State. Owens' rivalry with another track prodigy, Eulace Peacock (Shamier Anderson) is also depicted.

The relationship between Owens and Snyder gradually improved as time went on and they become friends by the end of the story. One of Owens' most famous achievements, in addition to his four Olympic gold medals, is shown in the film. On May 25, 1935, during a Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Owens set three world records and tied a fourth, all in a span of 45 minutes. According to the film, Owens was recovering from an injury when he set those records that day.

Much of the film is devoted to the events surrounding the 1936 Olympics, Owens, Snyder and Avery Brundage. There was a strong sentiment for America to boycott the Olympics because of Nazi Germany's persecution of Jews and other minorities. Brundage and Jeremiah Mahoney (William Hurt of “The Incredible Hulk”) engaged in a spirited debate. Mahoney favored boycotting the games, Brundage was against the boycott. The unlikely friendship between Owens and his Olympic long jump competitor, Carl 'Luz' Long of Germany (David Kross of “War Horse”) is also depicted in the film.

The NAACP and other African American leaders pressured Owens to boycott the Olympics too. It was a difficult decision, but he decided not to boycott. The movie indicates that Brundage pressured Olympic coach Dean Cromwell (Jonathan Higgins) into replacing two Jewish athletes on the American Olympic relay team with Owens and Ralph Metcalfe (Dondre Octave). Brundage always denied this. A controversy about a contractual relationship between Nazi Germany and a construction company owned by Brundage is included in the film.

The relationship between Owens and Minnie Ruth Solomon (Shanice Banton) also gets some coverage in the movie. Owens and Solomon were married in 1935, while their first daughter, Gloria, was born in 1932. The movie indicates Ruth threatened to leave Owens after she read about his affair with another woman. While Goebbels is depicted as a villain, as expected, and Brundage is depicted as a complicated character, Riefenstahl is given a pretty sympathetic portrayal in the movie, especially for being such a controversial character. For more about her, see the documentary film, “The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl.”

This is a very powerful film with excellent performances by Stephan James and Jason Sudeikis. Jeremy Irons, a great actor, makes the most of his scenes, too, as does The screenplay by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse (“Frankie & Alice”) does a nice job covering a lot of complicated history, while developing interesting characters. Director Stephen Hopkins (“The Reaping”) maintains a good pace, despite having a lot of characters and a complicated story to deal with. This film rates a B+.

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