King Richard

The Green Knight. The Last Duel. King Richard. When did Medieval stories become fashionable again? What do you mean it's not medieval? It is a period piece right? It's set in the 90's? What? Sure that's only a decade ago. How could that be a period piece? ......... wait...... have the Williams sisters been around that long??? Good god.

Compton, Los Angeles. But not the one we've seen onscreen before. The O-Dog's and Doughboy's of the world are just background noise here. The only sound that matters is the scuffle of trainers on a tennis court. The whoosh of an ace. The thwack of a ball hit home. Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) Williams are practicing. They're 11 and 9. We know what's ahead of them and so does their father/coach Richard (Will Smith). He has a plan for them and neither he or them is going to deviate from it. He's stubborn and bullish but he loves his daughters and they reciprocate it because they know he has their best interests at heart. This is their story.

Well no, it's his story and they get a look in. It's going to annoy some people but the sister's are producers here and if they've given it their ok they must be happy with it you'd imagine. It is a well made, beautiful looking film, bathed in that lovely California glow we all know so well and built around a towering performance from Will Smith. The suave, cool guy Smith persona is nowhere to be seen. The heartfelt, Oscar bait acting he does so well is almost entirely absent, almost. His Richard feels real, you can feel his love for his family, his belief in them, his pain when things don't go to plan for them. His his his. As good as it is it's all about HIS. His decisions. His ideas. His choices. A film charting the rise of two of the most famous African American athletes on the planet and at times they seem incidental in their own story. It's feels strange. You'll watch, you'll smile, you might cheer but you'll have this nagging feeling that something about it just seems off.

What works really works though, Saniyya Sidney as Venus nails the part, her joy and fear, her skill on the court in the moments when the camera isn't focusing on her father. Aunjanue Ellis as her mother Brandy does quietly powerful work as the less obnoxious half of the coaching team and the only person on the planet who can get the better of Richard. Two moments of hers stand out, one in a car and the other in a kitchen and both of them will wow you. Like the film itself, neither are flashy but they stick. Despite knowing how things end up for Venus and Serena the film strives to avoid cliche, wins are kept lowkey or sometimes offscreen, training montages are non existent and the stock story beats you'll expect to see happen in a sport story occur but without the trite sickliness you'd usually get.

With so much going right in the film it feels shitty to moan but this is a story that should have been a three hander, with Venus, Serena and Richard all sharing the spotlight equally. They certainly earned it. But they've also earned the right to tell their family story the way they want to as well. 

King Richard is in cinemas everywhere now.

The Racer

The crack of the starter pistol. The roars of the crowd. The buzz of the peloton. The burn in your thighs reminding you you're alive. The scenery. The comradeship. The lead. The relief of the finish. The adoring fans. The joy of pulling on that well earned coloured jersey. The bone weary tiredness. The brutal physio. The ice baths. The same boring food day after day. The irregular heartbeat. The blood. The needles. The misery of being an elite athlete. The Racer shows us the ecstasy of sport but never shies away from the agonies either.

It's July 1998. The year the Tour De France did things a little differently. Starting in Merrion square in Dublin the first 3 stages were held in Ireland before the race moved back home. It was a move designed to revitalise the race and help people forget they were watching a sport riddled with corruption and performance enhancing substances. Team Austrange is a favourite in this years race and the star cyclist is Lupo “Tartare” Marino (Matteo Simoni). He's the man who gets all the headlines but the real star is Dominique Chabol (Louis Talpe), a Domestique rider who's main mission in life is to get the star over the line in first place. Dom's a team player but he's questioning his place in life and at 39 he's starting to get worried about the future. In his own words "Without my bike I'm nobody." Oh and there's also the little matter of the illegal performance drugs wreaking havoc on his system.

The Racer's a compelling and convincing character study of a man who's devoted his all to an arena that in the end will chew him up and spit him out. Cycling's not the most cinematic of sports but director Kieron J. Walsh makes it work, packing the film with drama, conflict, a good Boyzone joke, some genuinely exciting racing sequences, lovely Irish scenery and a surprising amount of humour. When you lump a load of men together without women to temper them things can get rather juvenile and The Racer gleans a couple of comedic moments from their antics but most of the film's fun comes from Dom's relationship with the team doctor/physio/doper Sonny (Iain Glen). They've been working together for years, have a shorthand with each other, a relationship that feels genuine. Their friendship gives the film a warmth but also one of it's main sources of tension. Sonny's been loading Dom up with EPO for years and now it's biting back. The drugs he's taking to improve his body are wrecking it and Sonny's happy to keep going. In the world of BIG SPORT only one thing matters and it ain't the people playing.

It's these health issues that bring Lynn Brennan (Tara Lee) into Dom's orbit. She's a young Irish doctor brought in on the quiet so Sonny and Dom can keep his health problems a secret and of course there's a chemistry between the two. Lee's an interesting actress, a luminous presence onscreen but A Date For Mad Mary aside she's been mostly wasted in her film roles. Here she gets plenty to do as a professional who's conflicted by what's she's encountering in the underbelly of the world's most famous race. For Dom, it's an encounter that reminds him of what he's missing out on, that life doesn't have to be a constant struggle. Talpe sells Dom's internal discord well. He's flawed, he's selfish and he knows it and still we want him to be ok. 

Then we get to the end and a choice that many will feel has undermined everything that came before but it's a perfect encapsulation of the mindset of professionals. Nothing else but the job at hand matters. Give your all to something that doesn't give a damn about you. The film admirably doesn't condemn or commend though, that's left up to you.

The Racer is streaming online at the Cork International Film Festival website now. Fingers crossed it gets a proper cinema release soon. It deserves one.

Le Mans '66

A dirty white Ford GT40 is tearing down a straight. Just in front of him is a pristine red Ferrari P30 P3. The speeds are blistering. Both cars are doing close to 200 miles per hour. The stress on car and body is almost overwhelming. Both drivers have been behind the wheel for hours. Lorenzo Bandini is just ahead but Ken Miles is closing fast. There's a vicious right turn coming. Someone has to give way. If Miles doesn't slow Bandini will have to cut across him. If Bandini doesn't give way Miles won't have room to turn. They are seconds away from an orgy of blood and glass. The bend is rapidly approaching. Ooohhh shit.

The year is 1963 and Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) has a plan to revive the reputation of the Ford motor company. Speed and glamour are the bywords of the day and those words are synonymous with one brand - Ferrari. Vice President Iacocca has a plan. Build a car that can beat Ferrari and one that can do it on a world stage. To bring his dream to life ex racer and Shelby American owner Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) is brought on board. Shelby, a genius when it comes to cars only has one proviso; that an ill tempered Brummie mechanic and journeyman racer by the man of Ken Miles (Christian Bale) comes along for the ride too. Miles though, well he doesn't exactly fit the image Ford are trying to project.

I loved this. It's good ol' fashioned movie making at it's best. The kind of film that had it been made in the 70's it would have had Newman and Redford as the leads, Newman as Miles of course. It's 152 minutes of pure and utter entertainment. Don't worry about the running time at all. It flies by in a wave of thrilling race action, some proper belly laughs and a dash of genuinely affecting moments courtesy of a superb performance from Christian Bale, who's a scream as the ever so slightly eccentric Miles. Bale isn't someone you could accuse of having the warmest screen presence in past films but here he's a revelation. A funny, loving father and husband who dealt with his World War 2 experience but diving headlong into a hobby and turning it into a career. If he doesn't get an Oscar nod at least for this I'll eat my shoe.

Damon has a whale of a time as well in the less showy role of Shelby. As volatile in his own way as Miles but far more capable of keeping it under wraps. He becomes the part and he looks it too. Sometimes in period pieces certain actors just look and sound out of place but not here. His Shelby feels as real and lived in as any part of the beautifully recreated 1960's setting. Ireland's own Caitriona Balfe as Mollie Miles is sadly underused but does get one great moment where we see Ken isn't the only gearhead in the house. The Ford scenes in Detroit have a nice Mad Men feel to them as well and Jon Bernthal and Tracy Letts (so good in Ladybird) have fun as Iacocca and Henry Ford the second while Josh Lucas drips slime as Leo Beebe, the ultimate company man. Like the best panto villains you'll want to hiss everytime him and his agenda rock up on screen.

That agenda, the company agenda is one that Shelby and Miles face off against throughout the film and it's not hard to read all manner of meaning into them. Director James Mangold's (Copland, masterpiece) own filmmaking past and the hassles he's faced with creating his own visions and of course the ever encroaching hold corporations are having on everyday life. It makes a film set more than half a century in the past feel fresh and topical. I'm not a fan of driving sports at all and so was naturally wary going into this but it didn't matter a jot. There's a template here that could be laid over any number of sports and it would still work because for all the flash and speed on show it's really just a human story of people and their passions.

It won't be the the races you remember here in years to come, no, it will be the smaller, more intimate moments that will stick, a husband and wife sharing a beer and a dance amid the machinery, a father and son discussing a crack in the road, a businessman sharing a rare moment of honesty with his boss and two old friends having a much needed tussle in the middle of spilled groceries. Le Mans '66 is a great watch. Don't miss out on this in the cinema. On a huge screen if you can.

In cinemas now.

A novelty

I was in the cinema today and everyone was roaring and shouting. They had their phones out, they were taking pictures of the screen and selfies of themselves and the people in the rows behind them. People were openly and loudly discussing the action on screen while munching on breakfast rolls. A few people were even drinking beer. At lunchtime. For shame.

But it wasn't one bit annoying at all because it wasn't a film being shown. Nope. It was the Ireland v Russian Rugby World Cup game and it was great craic. What a novelty is was to get to see the mighty sport on a huge cinema screen. Getting to combine two things you love is deadly and when you're surrounded by like minded individuals it's even better. The buzz was wicked and it was almost as much fun as going to Thomond Park or Garryowen. Almost.

It wasn't Ireland's finest showing by a long shot but it was a win and there was plenty of goodness in there. That first Rob Kearney try after 90 seconds. Peter O'Mahony looking like even more of a god when he's 20 feet high and running for the tryline. Earlsey blitzing the pitch like a mad man and turning up everywhere. Killer breaking through the Russian defences like a battering ram. Jordi Murphy giving his all with the pain evident on his face. John Ryan bulling Rhys Ruddock over the line. That mighty Andrew Conway burst. Moments that seemed even better when you're watching them in one of your favourite places.

The downside of watching in the cinema is of course the fact that watching games at home will be shite from now on. I've spoiled myself. Oh well. Roll on Samoa.

Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona opens with a pulsating 80's synth score laid over images of what seems like a car chase, some vicious on field violence and scenes of nightclub excess. If you went into it cold you couldn't be blamed for assuming it was some kind of soccer meets gangster movie concoction. It's exciting stuff, it's hooks you instantly and it's an intoxicating way into an excellent documentary about a man who flew too close to the sun and died a thousand deaths on his way back to earth.

Diego Armando Maradona was born in Buenos Aires in 1960 into a life of poverty. The youngest in a family of 7, young Diego was the mammy's boy. As a child he was preternaturally gifted with a football and it wasn't long people started taking notice. At the age of 15 he began to play for Argentinos Juniors and became the breadwinner for his family. At the age of 22 he joined Barcelona but his time there was an unhappy and unsuccessful one. His next move was to the faltering Napoli team in the Italian Serie A league and here was where his legend began. His sudden rise to fame combined with a burgeoning ego......well you all know what happened next.

The best sport documentaries are the ones that grab you even if you aren't a fan of the sport. Hoop Dreams, Katie, Murderball, Red Army, When We Were Kings & Senna amongst many others. That last one was directed by Asif Kapadia who also directed Amy. Like Diego Maradona, Amy and Senna were about ordinary people elevated to godlike status because of their talents. Unlike Amy and Senna the subject in Diego Maradona is still alive, but sadly he's not really living much. It's a tale that's been told a million times. A person with a gift becomes famous too fast and it all goes to their head. Like the other 2 documentaries this one is a sympathetic portrayal too. We see deeper into Diego than we were let by the infamous tabloid headlines everyone remembers from back in the day  We begin to understand how things ended up the way they did. We begin to empathise with Diego and then finally we realise just how tragic it all ended up.

Imagine it. You're in your mid 20's. The world is at your feet. You've helped your club hit the top spot. You're the reason your country has won the World Cup. Everyone is worshipping you. Your blood is looked on as godlike (seriously). The Mafia wants to be friends with you. You've no family around to keep you grounded. Women are throwing themselves at you left, right and centre. Cocaine is flying. Is it any wonder Diego lost the plot. This is all stuff we knew already, even if you don't follow the sport. But hearing it all over archive footage of a young man clearly out of his depth makes you analyse it all differently. The smug arrogance disappears and instead you see a person struggling to come to terms with the madness around him. Imagine it. Horrible. Then, just as you peak, your own talent comes back to bite you on the arse and the world that previously loved you despises you instead. It's all quite brutal.

Even if you don't like football you'll be gripped watching this. It's as packed with action, intrigue, backstabbing and tension as any thriller. There's stuff in here that would seem far fetched in fiction. The horrible coincidence involving a World Cup fixture that snuffed out any bit of love Italy had for Diego. That lovely little lob that made him a god in his own town. The blatant foul that made him infamous around the world (brilliantly, England are made seem like the bad guys here, big laughs in the cinema at this part). Knowing the truth of what's coming makes it all a tense watch too. At times you'll think "how did it get so fucked up" and then it starts, the inexorable fall from grace that turns genuinely upsetting rapidly. Here we see vividly what Asif Kapadia has been getting at all along. Fame is not good, fame never ends well.

It's a story that could be transferred to any sport, any arena of celebrity. It's exhilarating and then it's tragic. It is really worth watching. In cinemas now.

Katie

On the 9th of August 2012 Katie Taylor rocked London's ExCeL arena by beating Sofya Ochigava to win an Olympic gold medal in the light division of women's boxing. Her victory attained courtesy of two vicious left hooks in the third round and a brutal 1-2-3 of punches in the final round. It was a joyous evening. All of Ireland watching on TV and an arena full of green roaring for her. That few seconds before her name was called had us in bits and we raised the roof when she dropped to her knees as the realisation of her win kicked in. It was fuckin mighty. Our Katie.

Before all that she was a young girl from Bray. Sports mad. Good at everything she tried. Disguising herself as a boy to enter boxing tournaments at a time when Women's boxing wasn't allowed in Ireland. Her preternatural speed and ability to put together hard combinations saw her rise rapidly until she reached the pinnacle of the amateur sport. Then a crushing blow almost ruined everything. A blow that came from the last place she expected. Her own corner.

I loved this, got pure emotional during it. It's a superb documentary, lovingly created from an abundance of archival footage and interviews with Katie herself who when she lets her guard (slightly) down comes across as far warmer and funnier than we've previously seen. It's great to get that bit of insight about her. Her drive, what makes her tick, how hurt she was by that infamous paternal betrayal that was splashed across Ireland's newspapers back in 2016. The Katie we see at pre-match press conferences always came across as rock hard, laser sighted on her goal, a woman who could not be swayed. Here we get a sense of the emotional damage that year wrought on her psyche and it will make your heart break for her. Unlike a lot of documentarians director Ross Whitaker doesn't feel the need to insert himself into the narrative and it's so much better as a result. He just shows us the story.

Happily the film doesn't delve into the minutiae of the split between her and her Da, it's touched on and that's it. The film is about her. His presence looms over proceedings but we only see and hear from him in old footage. There's no gory or sordid details dwelt upon. It happened and it broke her but she found the strength to come back and this for me was one of the greatest things about this watch. Even though it's a documentary it's structured like a boxing film. Her humble beginnings, her rise to fame, hitting the top before everything crumbles and then the slow rebuild, the strength, the force of will and that fierce determination to get back on top. Even when you know the outcome of the boxing footage you're watching you'll still be bobbing and weaving in your seat, cringing at the slow motion clatters she takes and resisting the urge to stand up and cheer at the outcome.

Her support system gets a good look in too. Her Mam Bridget, her sister Sarah, her brothers Lee and Peter, her new coach Ross Enamait. All of them so proud of her but in no way hiding their fear at what could happen as she enters the professional arena. There's a great scene in a Bray restaurant where she's eating with her oldest friends and they are at once so happy for her and at the same time keeping her down to earth with a bit of gentle ribbing. It's such an Irish moment, one we'll all recognise.

Go see this if it's on near you. It will give you a new found appreciation for one of our best ever sporting icons. She doesn't give everything away about herself though, parts of her are still a mystery but we get enough to ensure we'll cheer even louder the next time she's in the ring.