Dir. Roger Donaldson, New Zealand/US, 2005, 127mins
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Chris Lawford, Diane Ladd
Review by Carol Allen
When I first heard what this film was about, the thought of spending over two hours watching some old codger riding a motorbike, even if that old codger was played by Anthony Hopkins, did not exactly fill me with joy. And how wrong I was. It turns out to be a delightful surprise.
It tells the story of real life New Zealander, Burt Munro who, in the sixties, at the age of 63, fulfilled his lifelong dream of taking his antique 1920 Indian Twin Scout motorbike to Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA and breaking the world speed record. Making the film is also the fulfilment of a long held dream for Kiwi director Roger Donaldson. In 1971 as a young man starting out in his career, he met Burt, while making a documentary about him, was bowled over by his personality and his story and decided then and there that he wanted to tell that story one day as a feature film.
Hopkins and Donaldson between them do show Burt as a great character – likeable, eccentric and determined, with a direct no-nonsense manner, obviously a very good practical engineer and age notwithstanding a bit of a babe magnet. There’s a lovely moment when his girlfriend (Annie Whittle) is leaving his house in the early morning, watched by a nosy neighbour, to whom she says cheekily “Dirty old men need love too” . Yes indeed! On the road he’s offered help both with repairing his bike and a night of passion by an independent hippy loner, played by Diane Ladd, while when he gets to America he’s adopted by transvestite motel owner Tina (Chris Williams) and is the centre of attention with the young bike groupies at Bonnewille.
This road movie has to be a somewhat idealised version of Burt’s adventures. His down to earth manner and very Kiwi “get on and do it and don’t whinge” attitude turns everyone he meets into his friend, even the cop who stops him for speeding, whereas in reality he must have encountered a few surly types, particularly in America. And though that glorious Hopkins voice has a fair stab at the New Zealand accent, it does occasionally lapse a bit towards West Country. Another of his Americans chums is a fellow speed freak, played by Chris Lawford, who helps him overcome the ageism and bureaucracy of the guys who run the Bonneville Flats trials. If you think Lawford looks familiar, it’s probably because he looks remarkably like his late father, Peter. And in the New Zealand sequences, there’s a talented youngster 13-year-old Aaron Murphy as the kid next door, who’s fascinated by Burt and his motor bike.
OK, so it is a bit of a feelgood movie, but it never becomes soppy and sentimental. And why shouldn’t we come away from a movie occasionally with a warm cuddly feeling about the world? It’s also good to see a movie about a strong and interesting older character for a change. And even though I’m no fan of motorbike movies, the racing sequences in this are not only thrilling and well filmed, they’re emotionally gripping, because they’re so much a part of who Burt is.
