Winning

Author: George
Location: Atlanta

"Winning"

Directed by: Sam Mendes
Written by: Steven Soderbergh
Music by: James Horner

Principal Cast:

Russel Crowe as Nathan Avery
Virginia Madsen as Linda Avery
Pierce Brosnan as Luther Johnson
Dakota Fanning as Kim Avery
Robert Patrick as John Avery

Tagline: "Winning is more than just crossing the finish line"

Synopsis: Nathan Avery (Crowe) is a NASCAR racer entering the Indy 500. Behind him is his loving wife (Madsen) and his daughter (Fanning) and his mean-spirited father (Patrick) who is only with him for some money. When Nathan gets more obsessed with winning the race his wife begins to drift toward his rival Luther (Brosnan) and his daughter won't even speak to him anymore. When Nathan's father gives him a mean but true reality check Nathan tries to piece his family back together. With increasing hatred towards Luther he tries to beat him in the race. After a long day of racing Nathan goes to a bar to have a drink and sees Luther talking to his wife. Nathan gets very mad and ends up in a fist fight with Luther. With a sad daughter and disappointed father and wife he promises his family that he will win the race and get his family back together. The next day, on the final lap of the race he is neck-in-neck with Luther, after Luther tries to bump him into a wall, Nathan bumps him back and Luther's car goes spinning and flipping and Nathan wins. His wife goes back to him and his family discovers how much they actually love him. An insanely jealous Luther pulls out a gun and tries to shoot Nathan after the race. He gets shot on the stomach and is rushed to the hospital. Luther is rushed to jail and Nathan finally recovers and goes to his loving family.

What the press would say:

A very intense drama about a racer and his family. A great film with a pretty big surprise ending for a racing movie. The acting is superb by the whole cast and it is beautifully written. Five out of five stars!

Oscars:
Best Picture
Best Supporting actor (Brosnan, Patrick)
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Score
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Sound
Best Sound Effects