Who's in It: Jonny Lee Miller, Brian Cox, Billy Boyd
The Basics: True story of Graeme Obree, a cyclist who built his own bicycle from washing-machine parts and broke speed records with it. Add it to the pile of inspirational U.K. films about lone wolves who beat the odds and do the impossible. The list of them would almost reach from this country to that one. Could I have a documentary instead?
What's the Deal? Cyclists, I suppose, are going to love this movie no matter what, since it's about a real guy and a real record he broke and his unfortunately real problems with world cycling rules that were seemingly made just to thwart him. On top of all that, he suffered a crippling bout of depression that lasted for years. So it kind of dares you to be cynical. But I have no trouble taking that dare, and I was bored into an adorable wee slumber by the overt cuteness and forced emotional bullying.
How Much of a Dare We're Talking About Here: The tagline is: "Hope made him a dreamer. Heart made him a hero." Marketers with something truly inspirational to sell don't need to twist your arm that hard.
My Favorite Part: When he finally gets his brainstorm to use washing-machine parts to make his dream bike, the camera goes all close up on a spinning washing machine and then his face and then the machine and then his increasingly maniacal face, music swelling. I'm sure in real life it was a really cool moment for him, but you kind of have to be the greatest director in the world to make a washing machine into visually compelling cinema.
Where the Real Obree Is Now: Alive and well and still living in Scotland. So that's nice.