Dir. Douglas Mackinnon, Germany / UK, 2006, 103 mins
Cast: Jonny Lee Miller, Laura Fraser, Billy Boyd, Brian Cox
Review by Carol Allen
Based as it is on the life of champion Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree, unless you're mad keen on cycling, this movie doesn't sound very appealing. However, one should never judge a book by it's cover or, indeed, a movie by its tag line. Even if you have no interest in cycling whatsoever, the characters and story hold the attention.
Miller as Graeme fills the centre of the film well as the bullied child from a humble background, whose quirky personality and obsession with cycling helps him fight back and realise his dream against the odds. Suffering from chronic shortage of money, when the bicycle shop he owns goes bust, he then fails to get the sponsorship he needs to compete in the championship. Necessity however proves the mother of invention and Graeme designs and builds his own champion bike, using parts from his loyal wife Anne's washing machine, much to her dismay, and develops a revolutionary new aerodynamic riding posture, which enables him shave vital seconds off the existing record. This though brings him into conflict with the head of the World Cycling Federation, Ernst Hagemann, who rewrites the rule book in an attempt to prevent him from competing. You know Hagemann's going to be a bit of a villain, because he's played by Steven Berkoff!
Graeme's battle however is not just with lack of money and hidebound bureaucracy but with himself, in that he suffers from manic depression. It's the manic side, which gives him the obsessive determination to win, the depression, which frequently lays him low. This element of the film is not always convincing and a more in depth depiction of Graeme's struggle with his mental health problems would have given the film an extra dramatic dimension. Even so Graeme's suicide attempt, which opens the movie, is deeply disturbing and casts an interestingly dark shadow on what is primarily an inspirational David versus Goliath story.
There are also good supporting performances from Boyd as Graeme's chirpy manager, who provides some of the film's lighter moments; from Fraser making the most of the not very rewarding role of Graeme's wife and Cox as the priest, who regards souls as God’s business and people as his and therefore gives Graeme practical help and workshop facilities to develop his champion bike. The film wisely avoids getting bogged down in too much detail of cycling championship procedure and concentrates on the characters to the extent that, even if you don't give a fig about the sport, you'll still be rooting for Graeme in the predictably triumphant climax.
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