Then along comes 3, and it looks like ESPN has mined a little gold from the dirt tracks of North Carolina. 3 is the story of legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, who drove the #3 car for most of his career. The film stars Barry Pepper, a veteran actor with credits that include 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'The Green Mile,' and 'We Were Soldiers.'
Like his other sports role (playing Roger Maris in HBO's original movie '61' gained him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations), Pepper prepared for his role in 3 by going straight to the source. He had a beer or two while chatting with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., a racer himself and a major figure in the second half of the film. He also spoke with many of Earnhardt's competitors, along with members of his pit crew. While the effort pays off in the overall high quality of film that Pepper co-produced and Russell Mulcahy directed, where it shines most is in the extras found in the 2-DVD Collector's Edition. Sometimes extras are spelled: validation...
... But more about that later.
3 explores the often turbulent relationship between the young Dale and his father, Ralph. Ralph quits his job at the local cotton mill to devote himself to dirt track racing, making a name for himself because of a style of driving that values winning over sportsmanship. Extremely tough on his son, Ralph shouldn't be surprised when Dale, now a teenager, quits school and begins racing with just as much passion (but less success) as his daddy. The story then chronicles the ups and downs of Dale's pursuit not of driving, but of winning... in spite of various family members, and sometimes at their expense. The film pulls up just short of Earnhardt's fatal crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, choosing instead to end the film in an uplifting and spiritual way that demonstrates Mulcahy's ability to tighten the lug-nuts down on both ends of a film.
Where 3 succeeds the most is in its devotion to the story arcs of its main characters. Even if you know about how tough Earnhardt was on the track, it's rewarding to witness how the cast-off kid became 'The Intimidator,' Earnhardt's signature nickname. Writer Robert Eisele deftly crafts a story that doesn't tell you about what it's like to have oil in your blood, he makes you live it. His story structure and dialog is fast-paced but clear, giving the cinematographer and editor a firm foundation on which to build. The race sequences are tightly constructed. Quick cuts between archival footage and production shots, especially during the run ups to major races like the Daytona 500, help set the stage more viscerally than if Mulcahy had tried to duplicate everything himself.
The 2-DVD Collector's Edition of 3 includes exclusive interview footage of Dale Earnhardt from ESPN archives, race footage (also from ESPN), a making-of featurette, and two mini-documentaries: '3 Nation: The Life and Legacy of Dale Earnhardt' and 'An Inside Look at the Legend.' If the makers of 3 weren't confident about the product they produced and the amazing job Barry Pepper did sliding into the driver's seat as Dale Earnhardt, no one would have backed shipping the movie with all these extras.
NASCAR fans would probably pay the cost of the Collector's Edition set for the extras alone. For everyone else, it's nice that ESPN decided to make such a competent and compelling film. At ESPN's Original Entertainment division, and certainly within the hearts of sports movie buffs, hope springs eternal for more films like this...
