The Miracle Season (2018)

The Miracle Season (aka Live Like Line) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Watching Miracle Season comes almost exactly as prescribed. For those feeling a lack of motivation as a woman to take a dive into the athletic arena, here is the film for you. A melodramatic sports drama of one volleyball team triumphing over adversity and winning the big game. A true-life story to boot is sure to boost some spirits. Just don’t expect it to bring about much more than that.

The Iowa City West High School Volleyball Team has become the talk of the town for their astounding talents that have made them undefeated, led by the star player, Caroline "Line" Found (Danika Yarosh). But then tragedy strikes. No, it’s not Caroline’s mother dying of cancer (which she is) but Caroline dying in a moped accident. The community is devastated and the team is unsure of how to continue on after such an incident.

It’s up to coach Kathy Bresnahan (Helen Hunt) to get her star athletes back up and into the game. It starts by example. She encourages Kelley Fliehler (Erin Moriarty), Caroline's best friend, to return to the team and lead by example, placing the ball in her court to inspire her peers. It’s the only thing that can get the team back in action to avoid further forfeits. They will struggle. They will lose some games. But eventually, they’ll rise up and win the championship.

Miracle Season keeps its aim strictly on the sports drama aspect to inspiring only from this angle. Tougher topics of dealing with death are given mild lip service to the grander goal of getting out of the dumps and winning the big game. In the context, it’s easy enough to swallow. The volleyball team exists within a community where winning games is a big deal and a major obsession. If the winning volleyball team can’t get the community out of the depression of death, nothing will. Imagine if the team had lost the championship. I’m certain the community would still be behind them for a tough game waged but when so much hinges on games it brings in a bigger questioning of how easily all concerns can be distracted with sports. This is not a bad means of trying to continue on; just a simple one built for predictable melodrama.

Miracle Season is a perfectly fine film for what it sets out to be. It kicks a team with tragedy and you watch with inspiring eyes as they pull themselves out of the dumps. You’ll get some decent B-roll footage of the volleyball game, staged to be about as exciting as any volleyball game in a high school auditorium can be. I found that aspect perhaps the most intriguing as I’d never seen a sports picture entirely about volleyball. Unsurprisingly, it feels about as generic as any sports drama of one team rising up to the challenge.