Youngblood

With its fierce intelligence and thoughtful take on masculinity and race, Youngblood is a far cry from most sports movies. It also has some big differences with its ostensible source material: the same-titled 1986 movie starring Rob Lowe as a hockey hopeful. Yet Hubert Davis’ remake still hits the target when it comes to delivering high-stakes drama on and off the ice.

The film is also a powerful means of honouring Charles Officer, who was slated to direct before passing away in 2023. It’s hard to imagine a better choice of filmmaker to complete the project than Davis, who demonstrated his deep understanding of racism and resilience in the hockey world with Black Ice, which won the People’s Choice Documentary Award at the Festival in 2022.

Davis elicits compelling performances from a cast headed by Ashton James as Dean Youngblood. Conditioned by his father Blane (Blair Underwood) to match any slight with a greater show of aggression, Dean is a player whose potential for greatness is stymied by his volatility. A chance to play for the Hamilton Mustangs could be Dean’s last opportunity to course correct. But that means contending with toxic teammates and finding a way to work with Murray (Shawn Doyle, also at the Festival in Nika & Madison), the Mustangs’ skeptical coach. This relationship grows more fraught when Dean develops a connection with the bench boss’ daughter Jessie (Alexandra McDonald), a promising athlete herself.

For all the nuance he and his actors bring to the quieter scenes, Davis knows what many viewers demand: rock-’em-sock-’em hockey action. Thankfully, Youngblood more than satisfies on that front, too.

JASON ANDERSON

Content advisory: coarse language, bullying, mature themes, sexually suggestive scenes, violence