trailer review
The sporting world has been rocked by several scandals of late, with everything from doping to match-fixing in various fields making headlines around the globe. One of the most appalling episodes that have shocked sports fans in recent years came to the fore in 2011 when news broke of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. Former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was indicted for child molestation over a one and a half decade long period while long-time head coach Joe Paterno was accused of being involved in an alleged cover-up of the crimes. It’s the latter who is the subject of HBO’s upcoming television movie, Paterno.
Helmed by director Barry Levinson, the film is set to chronicle the downfall of the most victorious coach in American college football history as the magnitude of the revelations and their implications lead to the end of his career.
Al Pacino portrays the disgraced Paterno, struggling in the aftermath of his fall from grace while the question of whether he knew about the abuse looms large. The trailer suggests the thespian will be terrific in the lead role. The actor is no stranger to the task of playing controversial characters, having previously portrayed infamous figures like euthanasia proponent Jack Kevorkian in You Don't Know Jack (2010) and record producer Phil Spector – who was convicted for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson – in Phil Spector (2013). Given his impressive résumé, Pacino seems like a solid choice for the lead role, and the clips we see of him in the prevue promise another strong performance by the celebrated actor.
The trailer also shows actress Riley Keough as Sara Ganim, a reporter investigating the story who ultimately won a Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of the scandal. And we also get a glimpse of Kathy Baker as Sue Paterno, the protagonist’s wife, in the trailer’s most impactful scene – she mentions to her husband that Sandusky went in the pool with their kids before asking, “you couldn’t have known, otherwise you wouldn’t have let them go in the pool, right?”
Both the cast and the effectiveness of the trailer in capturing our interest indicate that Paterno could be an intense and impressive project, although it remains to be seen how well the movie handles the sensitive topic at its core.
The film will premiere on HBO on the 7th of April.
- Sameen Amer
The Express Tribune Blogs - 6th March, 2018 *
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