Borg vs McEnroe movie review: they get served
Excruciatingly suspenseful and unexpectedly moving portrait of the on-court rivalry between the two great tennis players… and the intriguing secret layer to the public dynamic between them.
sports
Journeyman movie review: men and all the feels
Sensitive drama about traumatic brain injury, featuring an extraordinary performance by Paddy Considine and much brutal honesty about men’s inability to deal with their own emotions.
Crowhurst movie review: the worse things that happen at sea
A little bit psychedelic, a little bit queasy, a little bit experimental, a lot existential, this is a jarring, visceral portrait of the around-the-world sailor in over his head.
Icarus documentary review: on athletes’ compromised wings
Perfectly illustrative of the serendipitous nature of documentary filmmaking as it pivots from a personal investigation of doping in sports into a thriller with global geopolitical ramifications.
The Mercy movie review: a sea of troubles
An unsettling true story smartly told, from a moment in time at once uniquely its own and a harbinger of things to come. Colin Firth is subtle, unflinching, extraordinary.
Early Man movie review: primordial goop
A huge disappointment, crude and simple compared to Aardman’s earlier, more sophisticated and multilayered work. No satire or subversion, just a bog-standard triumph-of-the-underdog story.
Mountain documentary review: the philosophy of peak adventure
Dizzying and dazzling, this is a stirring meditation on the allure, the mystery, and the danger of the world’s highest summits, as places but also as ideas.
I, Tonya movie review: a woman at war with herself
A black comedy about domestic violence, parental abuse, and low self-esteem (and it works!), one that challenges our appreciation of how true based-on-fact might be.
The Fencer (Miekkailija) movie review: en garde against yourself
The true story of an Estonian sports hero offers a lovely twist on a familiar tale. A cinematic triumph from a nation that’s been missing from the global film stage.
#Raindance2017: Black Hollow Cage, Stuck, Mukoku
Quick takes from the 25th Raindance Film Festival, with public screenings in London through October 1st, 2017.
