Apparently it's not easy to produce a watchable sport based drama - as so many attempts have proved. Avoiding uber-cliché, over dramatization and sickly back-slapping hero worship seems to be a challenge (certainly for Hollywood), but not here in this EU-based production. The film offers superb characterisation from Belgian actor Louis Talpe, who despite his ever so slightly over-developed biceps, is a perfectly believable lead, supporting the talented Irish actor Tara Lee as a UCI doctor arranged for the opening Ireland stages of the 1998 Tour. In fact quite bewilderingly the film is set exclusively in Ireland, yet it's an historically accurate and inspired setting. It thus contains a good portion of Irish grit and humour mixed in with many European sensibilities which only occasionally stray into parody - with the likes of a prima-donna Italian team leader, but then this characterisation could be argued to be one hundred percent perfectly realistic. It's all well acted with a well developed and involving side narrative and an unusual Irish/British-European feel to it. This film shows PED abuse but in the un-stylised matter of fact way that riders at the time treated it. We should all know what went on anyway so to present it as shocking to the contemporary audience would be a waste of effort. It does partly explain the environment of abuse at the time and how it developed to corrupt young riders, but doesn't go too deep into how with full institutional complicity those times became so dark. 1998 was ofc the year Pantani won the TdF keying up Armstrong for the following seven which he won on water alone. The film flows well, has an exciting Kraftwerk-inspired soundtrack (despite them not sound tracking the Tour till 2003) and race scenes are absolutely good enough. It's not easy replicating the professional Peloton, even that from 1998, we all know how professional riders move and this film obviously will not replicate that, but it is a movie without a budget for an encore of 80 elite riders. Yes the training rides seem a bit Zone 1 and the breakaway moves could be done by your gran on a Penny Farthing on a good day, but overall there's not much here at all that needs to be forgiven, it's a memorable production because of the narrative and the emotions of real life. Having said this I was expecting total nonsense so if you don't expect too much, then you shouldn't be rolling your eyes too much.
Review of The Racer
