McFarland, USA

New Zealand director Niki Caro, who made her name with the small-town Kiwi fable Whale Rider, would seem an unlikely choice for this very American sporting underdog drama. However, her sympathetic eye for the proud values of a poor rural community stands her in good stead for this true story of a champion high-school cross-country running team that emerged out of nowhere, in 1987, from the sleepy southern California town of the title. Kevin Costner is perfectly cast as the uncompromising football coach, effectively exiled there, who decides to form a running team after discovering that some of his students are pretty quick on their feet. But while Caro provides a suitably gritty sheen to the visuals, she can do little with a clichéd storyline. Costner's battle to win over the students and parents, along with the neglect of his own family, are threads that unfold with depressing predictability.