minor but enjoyable sports movie

Buddy-51

"The Flying Scotsman" tells the story of Graeme Obree, a championship cyclist from Glascow, who, in the mid 1990s, twice broke the world speed record using a bike he'd constructed out of washing-machine parts. To achieve his success, Obree had to wage battle against not merely the leaders of the World Cycling Federation - who considered him an upstart and thus did everything they could to try to keep him from competing - but his own personal demons brought on by childhood trauma and clinical depression.

This slight but engaging film boasts an intriguing locale, smooth direction by Douglas Mackinnon and endearing performances by Johnny Lee Miller, Billy Boyd, Laura Fraser and Brian Cox. These serve as effective counterweights to all the sports-underdog, hometown-hero-makes-good clichés inherent in the story.

For the movie makes it clear that Obree did become something of a folk hero for the citizens of Scotland, who are often forced to play second-fiddle to their more haughty neighbors to the south. For a brief but shining moment, however, the nation of Scotland stood atop the world of competitive cycling, all thanks to its Favorite Son, Graeme Obree.

score 7/10

Buddy-51 21 June 2008

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1897134/