If The Flying Scotsman hadn't been good at all, it would be worthy just by the warning at the very end of the final credits about how the movie, despite being based on true events, is a dramatization of real life. It would be obvious, but we sometimes pursuit some sort of truth in movies like that.
The fact is that it was also visible that the life of the heroic cyclist Graeme Obree is not fully there. The writing is a bit abrupt, trying to convey so many important events on this amazing story about tenacity, courage and sports that I was a bit lost in some moments. The movie is a bit irregular, but the story is incredible. I enjoyed to know about this brave Scotish athlete that fought bureaucracy, lack of money (he built his own competition bike) and, over all, mental issues in order to pursuit amazing feats.
There's no wrong with John Lee Miller. I wasn't even disappointed to know that David Tennant was offered the role of Obree but had to refuse. And I love Tennant. John Miller, however, is the link between the real Obree and his surreal story of endurance and achievement against all the odds, that were slowly overcome of course with the help of the loving people around him - his wife is great, as his friends, very caring and supportive. Sweet, but never cheesy.
I'm curious now about his story (I love sports tales), and I'll be reading his biography in a near future. Not a bad Sunday with a movie after all, I think.
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| Graeme Obree + John Lee Miller The Flying Scotsman. Directed by Douglas Mackinnon. With: John Lee Miller, Laura Fraser, Brian Cox. Writers: John Brown, Simon Rose, Declan Hughes. Germany/Uk, 2006, 96 min., Dolby Digital, Color (Netflix). |
I have to work a little harder on convincing myself when it comes to sports-themed stories. Not my favorite theme, but every now and then I get surprised with some really good ones (Warrior is a perfect example, I did not expect it to be so amazing). But yea, this sounds good, specially with Jonny Lee Miller as the lead, the guy is good.
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