The Flying Scotsman

Director: Douglas Mackinnon
Screenwriters: John Brown, Declan Hughes, Simon Rose
Starring: Jonny Lee Miller, Billy Boyd, Brian Cox, Laura Fraser, Morven Christie
Running time: 103 mins
Certificate: TBC

The Flying Scotsman tells the true story of legendary Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree (Miller) who, creating the "superman position" and his own bike out of scraps and washing machine parts, broke the record for distance travelled on a bicycle within an hour.

After learning that cycling was the young Obree's salvation from bullying, we first meet him as an adult as his failing cycling shop is on the verge of closing down. Although successful in local races, he has never broken through into the cycling world, but after an impromptu race with a customer he's inspired to change the angle of his handlebars, which sets him on the path to creating a new bicycle design which he uses to compete in a number of competitions, battling bouts of depression and demons from his troubled childhood along the way. He does this with very little sponsorship, but has support from his wife Annie (Fraser), friend and manager Malky (Boyd) and mentor Rev. Baxter (Cox).

Obree has had a very eventful life, both on and off the racing track, winning more competitions than this film would suggest, though this isn't a biopic in the truest sense of the word, but rather an account of his budding success over a couple of years. Unfortunately, though, neither his professional success nor his depression are really tackled in enough detail.

Despite an ominous foretelling of a suicide attempt at the beginning of the film, Obree's emotional troubles don't actually seem all that troublesome until a fair chunk into the movie - the success is dealt with before the reasons for it being such an accomplishment, which diminishes the impact upon the audience.

Whilst cycling aficionados will undoubtedly have no trouble in this respect, the nature of the competition and what it involves is too often glossed over or under-explained, as is the factor that stands in the way of his success - the World Cycling Federation's regulations. Personified by Ernst Hagemann (Steve Berkoff), a German baddie if ever there was one, this body keeps changing the regulations so as to disqualify our underdog hero, but its motive also suffers from a lack of explanation.

Though the cast suffer from a less worthy screenplay, the acting can't be faulted. Miller plays Obree well, but the fairly cursory coverage of his mental state often leaves him looking obsessive and argumentative rather than genuinely troubled, and therefore coming across less likable.

For a while, the filmmakers succeed in making cycling interesting to those who wouldn't usually pay any attention to the sport, though after a while the competition sequences in the velodromes become less and less enthralling.

What perhaps makes the film come across worse in the context is the fact that it was given pride of place as the opening night film. Whilst the 'underdog overcoming the odds' nature of the film (it would be a classic feelgood movie if it weren't for that pesky depression) is a worthy beginning to the event, national pride may have slightly clouded the organisers' judgement.