This is an amazing story, with amazing people, but the storytelling is too polished, too often accompanied by music, overly edited, over-filmed, and, frankly, preachy.
Zion's story is one of courage and inspiration. But the religious under- and overtones are unnecessary, such as the woman praying over him in a voiceover halfway through. Who is she? Are we all to agree with her premises?
And the coach's tearful description of Zion's accomplishment came too soon. That was a climactic speech he made at his desk, underscoring how Zion thought of Coach Donohue as a father figure.
I wrestled. It's a wonderful sport. It was insightful that Coach pointed out that it's two men trying to impose their will on each other.
But where was the conflict necessary for any story, even an 11-minute one? Surely the "conflict" was more than within Zion himself. How about showing us rather than telling us about those who wouldn't accept him? Those who "made comments to their teammates" about Zion?
This could have made a great story: just double the length and tell it better.
