Maurice Richard [The Rocket] (2005)

(On Cable TV, July 2020) 1940s hockey player Maurice Richard is a French-Canadian legend, especially for Montréal Canadiens fans. Prestige biographical drama Maurice Richard mostly does justice to his memory, presenting a credible overview of his career, and the tension that existed between him and the mostly English-language NHL at the time. Charles Binamé’s sober direction lends gravitas to the result—perhaps too much at times: this sometimes feels like a heritage minute stretched over nearly two hours. (Albeit with uncharacteristic inflammatory language agitprop.) Visually, it looks almost exactly like what we imagine the 1940s to look—drab, featureless and without colour except brown. Fortunately, Roy Dupuis is not bad as Richard. Still, while Maurice Richard is respectable, it’s also slightly duller than a movie about a sports hero should be.