All's fair in love and war?

 
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Love and war are rarely, if ever, fair, and the rules that govern each are constantly being changed and moulded. In 1925, however, George Clooney’s character Dodge Connolly would have us believe that when it came to football, they simply didn’t exist. Leatherheads portrays the ‘rules’ for American football as ‘a new and dangerous element that has been creeping in’.

Dodge Connolly is a veteran footballer desperately trying to keep his beloved, but rather haphazard team, the Bulldogs, from going under. At the start of the season, Dodge is forced to face facts as their sponsorship is terminated and the team, which ‘isn’t exactly the cream of America’s workforce’, faces extinction. Dodge identifies the need for some fresh and charming energy from outside in order to stop the team from folding. A ray of hope seems to emerge in the young and exceedingly dashing Carter ‘The Bullet’ Rutherford (John Krasinski). Carter is represented as a heroic veteran of the Great War, who through bravery and cunning caused an entire squad of Germans to surrender themselves for capture. Dodge believes that Carter, who on his return from the front returned to his first love of football, will provide the perfect solution to keeping the Bulldogs alive. Hoping this war hero will breathe vitality and public interest back into his team Dodge sets to work, convincing Carter to join them. His success however, brings more than Dodge bargained for.

Leatherheads has much to say about the birth of professional American football. It tells the story of the beginning of the transformation from the playfully rough, pioneering days of the professional leagues into the ridiculously over-hyped, mercenary circus that is today's NFL. Although done with light-hearted comedy, the film illustrates how the pressure of this commercialised lifestyle leads to cracks in the veneer of even the best players. Carter’s straight-laced image and past are placed under the spotlight as ‘the game of professional football has come of age’, and along with Carter’s presence, come the advertisers, the money men and, most significantly, the rulebook.

Rules in their various forms play a great part in Leatherheads as they go from being frankly non-existent on the field, to dictating all areas of work and play, both on and off the pitch. Although the rules of relationships in 1925 were not hard and fast, there is no doubt that they were more influential than they are today. Leatherheads illustrates how the rules which govern today’s behaviour are increasingly subjective in our post modern society. We may all strive to follow rules set down for the sake of law and order, but when it comes to our day-to-day living, and specifically our relationships, we often choose to let our own rather selfish ambition be our rulebook.

On one level, Leatherheads illustrates how, when it came to national memory and representation, the rules of honesty and truth were as malleable in 1920’s America as they are today. As Dodge rightly pointed out, ‘we love our heroes’ and this is proved true with the character of Carter. However, the unfortunate truth about the origin of his fame and his wartime experiences is revealed to the viewer early on, as we are let into the shocking truth that this all-American ‘good looking, war hero football boy’ is, in fact, far from a hero. Early in the film, one of Carter’s fellow soldiers comes clean about what really happened during the war to the Chicago Tribune newspaper. On hearing the true story, the editor of the Tribune chooses the sassy and smart Lexi Littleton (Renee Zellweger) to draw the shocking confession from the lips of Carter himself. Lexi accepts the challenge, and soon establishes herself as the love interest of Leatherheads. Unsurprisingly, both Carter and Dodge are captivated by the vivacious and quick-witted Miss Littleton as she sets to work on her latest assignment. The men seek to attract her with a mixture of predictable yet entertaining charm and quick-witted advances. A love triangle soon forms, and Lexie faces some complicated decisions as, having drawn the truth from Carter, she tries to weigh up the risks of a damaged reputation, broken confidences and, potentially, love.

Having made the decision to dispel the myth of Carter's wartime heroics however, Lexie is faced with a backlash as Carter denies the truth and, with the aid of his sponsor, forces the Tribune to write a retraction. Dodge, however, cunningly rescues Lexie’s journalistic reputation by manipulating Carter into admitting the truth in front of his sponsor and the newly appointed commissioner of professional football to whom both he and Carter must now report.

Ending with Dodge and Lexi riding off into the sunset, the viewer is left with a sense that the rule book for life on and off the pitch may not be that different today than it perhaps was in 1925. In effect, rules were as bent, open to manipulation and development then, as they can be today. In today’s society, whether or not we follow the rules often depends on our own self-interest and our desire for self-preservation. Like Carter, who was terrified of what people would think of him if the truth be known, we can manipulate and tweak the truth to show ourselves in the most favorable light possible. The basics of human nature are portrayed in Leatherheads as, even though portrayed with comedy, the desires of each character are constantly tainted by selfishness. Perhaps one could say this is inevitable, a basic of human nature, one given to aid our survival and not one to be fought? However, as Carter shows us, when the facts are exposed, even though it’s temporarily unpleasant, the relief that the truth brings is of far more value than the lies that brought him fragile success.

Here Leatherheads promotes an attitude to truth that is valued by Christians. Its importance is prized above selfish ambition and the perceptions of others. So often we switch off our consciences despite them clearly telling us how to handle the truth. Instead we play with the facts to make others like us, think better of us, or even think worse of someone else. These decisions never cease to have bad consequences for some, most often ourselves.  For Carter revealing the truth ultimately brings him peace, which is of far greater worth than the nation’s false expectations and misplaced respect.

‘Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ (John 8:32, NIV)

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