Mildly inspirational but ultimately overrated

Rating: Null/10 (14 August 2003)

5/10
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
My main problem with this film was the fact that I couldn't really sympathise with the two main characters. I thought Liddel, the Scottish sprinter who ran for God, lacked any real warmth or compassion and it was difficult to feel real pity for Harold Abrahams, the supposedly victimised English Jew, when the only repression he encountered was a few comments from upper-class twits whist living a life of luxury at Cambridge University. The way the film develops, you expect the two "rivals" to compete against each other at the end of the film to tie the two stories together. The fact that they don't is not really a criticism (it is afterall a true story), it just feels strange if you are used to Hollywood films. The famous opening and closing scenes are by far the best moments of this film although they serve no purpose in the plotline.