Some will think that the new film “Unstoppable” is a sports film about wrestling. But after watching it, they’ll understand that it’s about much more than what happens on the mat.
The film tells the inspirational and true story of Anthony Robles, a young man born with one leg who finds hope and success through wrestling.
Robles is played by Jharrel Jerome, who does an amazing job at showing the pain, triumph, doubt, belief and drive experienced by Robles as he fought to prove he could succeed.
It was a deep-rooted drive fueled by his mother, Judy, played by Jennifer Lopez, who refuses to let him quit and show doubt.
Robles won in high school but understood that one loss, especially in the biggest moments, could deter the chance for him to wrestle in college. So he fought through all obstacles to win.
Unfortunately, his dream of earning a scholarship to programs like Iowa and Arizona State, some of the best programs in the country, was squashed when the team declined to make him an offer. As a matter of fact, after winning a national high school title while at Mesa HS in Arizona, the only offer he received was from Drexel in Philadelphia.
Those types of moments cause some to retract and give up on the dream they worked so hard to achieve.
But not Robles.
Instead of giving up, he decided to forgo Drexel’s offer and walked on at Arizona State.
In real life, Robles went on to become a 3x Pac-10 champion and a 3x All-American at Arizona State.
But it wasn’t a simple fairytale story in any sense, and Unstoppable does a great job showing how difficult it was for him to overcome the adversity he faced. That included doing everything his teammates did but with only one leg.
His effort, drive and non-quitting spirit impressed Sun Devils coach Shawn Charles, played by Don Cheadle.
After making the team, he faced another moment of indecision after his junior year when he finished seventh at 125 lbs at the NCAA Tournament in 2010.
He was ready to quit, but then a box of letters from fans and kids he unknowingly inspired arrived. After reading them, he remembered he wasn’t just doing this for himself or for an NCAA title.
“I remember getting those letters in real life after my junior year,” Robles told me in our interview. “Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to come back my senior year. My coach got those stacks of letters and he gave them to us, and to read those things individually, one-by-one, from those kids, it made me cry.
“At that moment, I realized that I was wrestling for a bigger cause than just me, than just winning a trophy.”
It’s a powerful moment captured between Jerome and Lopez on screen, a moment that eliminated negative thoughts from Robles’ mind and convinced him to return to Arizona State for his senior year.
And it’s a good thing he did because that year, in 2011, he won the 125 lbs NCAA title.
While the win was the ultimate on-the-mat victory for Robles, it was an off-the-mat victory for everyone.
It was for his mom, who stood proudly by his side and refused to let him quit or doubt himself. For his family, who supported him. For his coaches and teammates, who believed in him and pushed him and for strangers who found power and inspiration through him.
One of those people was Jharrel Jerome.
