"The Flying Scotsman's" inspirational tale sends spirits soaring

"The Flying Scotsman" is the true story of Graeme Obree, a Scottish amateur cyclist who broke the World Hour Record (for distance covered) in 1994. An underdog suffering bouts of clinical depression, Obree won over cycling fans everywhere by pedaling a bike he built himself (using, among other things, parts from a washing machine).

Unfortunately, official powers controlling the sport of competitive cycling were less than enamored with Obree's accomplishment, as well as his scrappy defense of the ingeniously designed bike. Stripped of his title, Obree then persevered through an uphill battle to reclaim it, barely living through some particularly dark patches in mental health.

Jonny Lee Miller ("Trainspotting") is enormously sympathetic and appealing as Obree, whose precise problems, at least at their root, are treated with such respect and discretion by the filmmakers that "The Flying Scotsman" does not in the least feel voyeuristic. Director Douglas Mackinnon and several screenwriters emphasize endurance over triumph, and in that vein we experience Obree's agonies, both in and out of racing sequences, as matters of survival.

A terrific supporting cast provides emotional ballast to Miller's painful performance, including Billy Boyd as Obree's loyal trainer and friend, and Laura Fraser as his supportive wife. The film is all but stolen, however, by Brian Cox, who plays a special confidante to Obree, a character whose passion for cycling comically interferes with his other duties.

Gavin Finney's cinematography provides a unique perspective on a racing cyclist's view as Obree goes round and round, monotonously, on a slanted track. But an equally compelling look from the inside of Obree's illness offers the film's most stunning moment, a psychodramatic extension of depression's demons. After watching this scene, one is that much happier to read during closing credits that the real-life Obree seems to be doing just fine these days.

Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@yahoo.com