The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

https://www.facebook.com/greaterthemovie/about/ OK friends and fans here is my review of Greater. First let me start by saying that Neal McDonough who was the older brother Marty in this film was excellent in his acting. Kudos! Most importantly as executive producer (Money man) he had confidence in a less known up and coming actor in Chris Severio. So much so that he put it all on the line by casting Mr. Severio as the lead Brandon Burlsworth. And let me say that decision was a good one. I saw the sacrifices and dedication of this young actor to bring to life Brandons character all the while maintaining the respect and dignity of this young mans family and character. Chris Severio did an excellent job as lead which is a tremendous amount of pressure in and of itself. The amount of time and physical sacrifice this actor put into his performance is obvious. The long awaited end result must have been a personal reward for this young actor.The entire cast was a good example of ensemble togetherness. I did not see egos or any upstaging in the entire film. Living in Arkansas for sometime I always said that a film shot there showing the great fall colors and landscape would present some awesome cinematography. And this film did just that. Even the locals that were cast came through to make a GREATER overall film of a young man with strength, character and faith. I recommend this film for good family viewing as there was no harsh language or explicit scenes at all. Just good story telling and family values. "And" this is a true story!!!!! Go get your copy today at Walmart for a very reasonable price and at Amazon today.

Where to start? Well, this was a surprise for me and a mighty good one at that. To be honest, I had never heard of Brandon Burlsworth before (I am from Ireland and don't follow American football that much) but after watching this film and doing some follow-up research I now know his story is an amazing and inspiring one and then some.Hats off to all involved, great acting, especially by Chris Severio as Brandon Burlsworth, but the other actors really played their parts convincingly too. I loved this for other reasons also, the powerful message that for those who never give up opportunities will come. Just a quick mention for actor Neal McDonough who played the part of Brandon's brother amazingly. He did a superb job; the last time I saw him was in the excellent TV series, Band of Brothers. Such a terrific actor who deserves more recognition for what he does.What's more, it is a great family film and proof it doesn't have to be all about graphic images, profanity, and innuendo. Well done to the production crew for making a movie with such an important uplifting message in an age where others seem only concerned with pushing their agenda.I urge everyone to see this because, as I said in the heading, "Every now and again something special comes along." This is one of those moments.

Greater is a great movie -- greater than most, in my opinion. Christopher Severio, Neal McDonough, and Leslie Easterbrook, as well as the supporting cast playing Brandon's High School & Arkansas coaches achieved resounding success in making this film believable, and its real-life characters empathetic in every sense.Be that as it may, I couldn't bring myself to give it nine stars, for three reasons in order of importance to me, from least to most:1. I wanted to see a bit of Brandon overcoming some of his early obstacles. In particular, his growth spurt between high school and college seemed instantaneous, as if somebody had just clicked "supersize" on his body, and he was suddenly one inch taller and 80 pounds heavier. 30-90 seconds would have sufficed to show me, rather than tell me.2. Some parts of the script were a bit gushing with sentimentality, when there was absolutely no need for any melodrama in this story.3. In keeping with the bit of melodrama, I felt "The Farmer" who taunted grieving Marty was absolutely unnecessary. Was this person really there, doing that? I don't know, and I don't care. He's inserted into the movie in a way that seems like editorializing, rather than adding to the story. If a character isn't driving home the story, he or she should be eliminated from it, especially given the length of the film.To close out this criticism sandwich of a review, these minor flaws kept me stuck at 8.3 stars for "Greater," unable to round up to a 9-star rating. It's still a great movie. In particular, the intense sadness of the ending was much deeper than expected. After all, I reckon most viewers know how Brandon's life ends before they watch the movie -- it's explicitly stated in the Storyline for this IMDb page. Even so, the depth of emotion portrayed caused me to recollect the sadness of loss of close loved ones in my own life, and how much better I feel the world would be if they were still around, instead of abruptly removed from it as they were. The ending itself drives home that emotional connection (without requiring an extraneous character to spoon feed it to me).Eight stars!

I grew up in Harrison, Arkansas. My family and I knew the real Brandon Burlsworth and still know the family to this day. Brandon has always been a big part of my life, even after his death. The Junior High I attended had his name all over it along with his slogan "Do It the Burls Way" on the field house for football practice. I knew Burlsworth was a big deal in Harrison, but never in a million years did I ever think a movie was going to be made about his life. And when it finally debuted, after several years in the making, I was amazed. I can say with all sincerity that I have never seen a sports film that I have enjoyed more than "Greater." The acting, the dialogue, the cinematography, the editing; pretty much every aspect of the film was completely fantastic. It's the only film I've ever seen that's made me cry. It was so beautifully done!