MOVIE REVIEW

Darnellia Russell fights to play the sport that could get her into college.

By Kevin Crust, Times Staff Writer

Bill Resler, an exuberant University of Washington tax law professor turned girls' high school basketball coach, would have been a good subject for a documentary all on his own. That a 14-year-old phenom named Darnellia Russell walked into his gym one day is one of those fortuitous twists that makes for a terrific documentary.

This veritable deus ex machina may have fallen into the lap of writer-director Ward Serrill, whose film "The Heart of the Game" tells the story of Resler and Russell, but he has certainly made the most of it. More than seven years ago, Serrill set out to film Resler's maiden season as girls' basketball coach at Seattle's Roosevelt High School, fully confident that there was a story there. Little did he know what authentic drama awaited.

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Resler had unorthodox theories about basketball, and coaching at the school where his three daughters attended allowed him to put these theories into practice. For one, Resler threw out the concept of a set offense, preferring to have his players improvise. On defense, the team would execute a full-court press for the entire game, requiring a level of fitness seldom found in high school players of either gender and the grueling training regimen it would demand. Most unusual of all was Resler's approach to motivating his players.

After a brief prelude, the film picks up with Resler introducing the players to his ideas. A genial bear of a man, he cajoles and extols in equal measure. With drills that emphasize physicality and aggressiveness, Resler quickly disabuses his young ladies of any notion they can't play as hard-nosed a game as the boys.

Soon, the Roosevelt team is living up to its nickname — the Rough Riders — crashing the boards for rebounds and diving for loose balls. Resler establishes a metaphoric theme for each season, empowering his charges to behave like a pride of lions or a wolf pack, and not simply beat their opponents but attack and devour them.

The team becomes a powerhouse, regularly going to the Washington state playoffs, only to suffer crushing losses each year before reaching the title game. Serrill's camera gamely follows the first three seasons, efficiently recording the team's transformation and — with the exception of star player Devon Crosby-Helms — embrace of Resler's philosophy.

Everything changes with the arrival of Darnellia Russell for season four, however. An African American student who lives in cross-town rival Garfield's region, Russell enrolls at predominantly white Roosevelt, where her mother hopes she will have better opportunities. Darnellia adapts well to Roosevelt's style of play but struggles socially and academically. By her junior year, the talented point guard and team leader is already getting letters from Division I college programs in bulk and is a key component of the Rough Riders' success — though a state championship remains elusive.

An unforeseen event derails Darnellia's career and tests the resolve of everyone involved. The nail-biting final third of the film features legal battles, the raising of questions about racial and gender equality and outstanding basketball that significantly elevate the film's stakes.

To say more would dilute the inherent drama as it teeters on the brink of tragedy with surprises that would challenge credibility in a fiction film. An exhilarating story of loyalty and perseverance, "The Heart of the Game" succeeds as both inspiration and social commentary.

'The Heart of the Game'

MPAA rating: PG-13 for brief strong language

A Miramax Films release. Writer-director Ward Serrill. Producers Serrill, Liz Manne. Executive producer Larry Estes. Editor Eric Frith. Music the Angel. Narrator Chris "Ludacris" Bridges.

Running time: 1 hour, 38 minutes.

At the ArcLight, 6360 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 464-4226.