“It’s a heartwarming film about football and life,  a true Friday Night Light’s story that every football fan should see!”   ~ Marcus Blake

Watch the Interview with the Director

With the professional football season coming to a close, many are probably already thinking ahead to life in 2019 without their beloved sport. Furthermore, some are likely already making plans for draft parties and placing bets for the upcoming year. This is no joke or exaggeration! As someone who grew up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and still calls the region home, I am no stranger to the rather serious nature of football… at EVERY CONCEIVABLE LEVEL.

Rob Smat, the writer and director of “The Last Whistle,” is also a native of Texas. He, too, has personal insights regarding the atmosphere of football in the state, despite now residing in California. The difference, which happens to be a pretty significant gap, between those like me and Smat, is that he played high school football for a solid four years. A team nicknamed as the Saints. You might be able to imagine where the name of the football team in the film gets its inspiration. Needless to say, the primary story of this movie centers around the great game of football.

Brad Leland (“Deepwater Horizon”) is Head Coach Victor Trenton. The Saints are having a special season. Nine games-deep, they are undefeated and a state championship appears to be within reach, if all continues to go well. The opening moments of the film capture the sights and sounds of Texas high school football rather accurately. It truly IS a special tradition! A few highlights of the game showcase the drama of a hard-fought contest, which seems to make the experience all-the-more special when it is at the high school level because: the kids are NOT going home to their supermodel wives in a 14,000-plus square-foot estate or seeking to be pledged in a prestigious frat house community, based on their athletic accomplishments. THESE kids are practicing the basics and fundamentals and playing for the love of the game, for lack of a better phrase.

The outcome of the game also depicts the tale of two very different players on the team. One is the star Running Back, Benny Robinson (played by Fred Tolliver Jr), who appears to play every down and does everything that is asked of him, by Coach Trenton. The other player, Mark Smith (played by Tyler Perez), rides the bench, looks bitter about his supposed lack of reps and playing time and openly rebels against his parents at nearly every turn.

Things become dicey when the two players’ actions overlap, moments before a routine practice. As a result practice is delayed and the entire team is penalized with “gassers.” If you do not know what those are, just watch the ensuing scene. The basketball practice equivalent, in my view, would be “suicides,” though that nickname has possibly been altered since my youthful playing days, but I digress. The result of the strenuous “gassers” leads to an unfortunate outcome, mainly for the coach and his star running back, but the aftermath of the LAST whistle, is the key to the whole story.

Benny’s mother, Theresa Robinson (played by Deanne Lauvin, “Murder Made me Famous”) takes things very hard, which is completely understandable and the rest of the school, including most of its faculty members, are on her side, over Coach Trenton. Everywhere the coach goes, he is harassed and looked down upon. When he finally agrees to talk to the media, he is portrayed in a negative light, some of which is unfair and unethical. His lonesome home life paves the way for bad habits, which lead to even worse decisions. Not even his daughter, Sarah Trenton (played by Sainty Nelson, “The Boss Baby”), can get through to him. His arrogance and obstinance, though coupled with passion and intellect, are infecting his livelihood.

One of the most important themes in “The Last Whistle” is the dichotomy in people’s minds concerning the court of justice and the court of opinion. How many times have YOU seen a case unfold and no matter what the outcome was, you were convinced of something else entirely? In this vein, perception truly DOES equal reality.

I, myself, as a play-by-play for a specific high school football team, witnessed something similar as in this movie. A football player, on the junior varsity team, sustained a severe head collision and was rushed to the hospital. He never awoke from his coma and, eventually, had to be let go. It goes without saying that this is a decision none of us would ever want to make as a parent or guardian, but the ongoing conversation about safety for the players versus the will to win or compete at any cost continues to flare up, as a result. WHO is at fault? WHAT actions still need to be taken? Is there really any escape from the risk of life or death scenarios? At the end of the day, we are all STILL human beings and as long as we are involved, there will be flaws. Maybe the best we can do is understand that about each other and consider everyone’s thoughts and feelings on the given matter, not just our own.

Director: Rob Smat

Screenwriter: Rob Smat

Cast: Brad Leland as Victor Trenton, Deanne Lauvin as Theresa Robinson, Sainty Nelson as Sarah Trenton, Fred Tolliver Jr as Benny Robinson, Tyler Perez as Mark Smith, Jim O’Heir as Ted and Eric Nelson as Greg Reid