The Ice King

Club Cert; Now showing IFI

As a boy in Birmingham in the 1960s John Curry wanted to learn ballet. His father did not approve of ballet for boys but the young John found a way to follow his dream — skating was balletic and beautiful but, as Curry said as an adult, “protected by the umbrella of sport”.

James Erskine’s film looks at the life and career of this first openly gay athlete. It opens as it means to continue with photos and footage and the voice of someone who knew Curry. The entire documentary is told through the skater’s own words, actor Freddie Fox reads from his letters, or those of the people who knew him speaking over photos and footage of what was groundbreaking in figure skating at the time.

The boy who saw ballet in skating trained tirelessly in difficult circumstances. He was trying to perfect routines in crowded public rinks. What he wanted to achieve was at odds with the accepted style of skating for men but he had a very clear vision, got lucky with a training sponsor and went on to become European and Olympic champion. In the process of which he was outed as a gay man, still a big deal in sport now, it was even more so in the 1970s. Like many perfectionists Curry, who died in 1994, was rarely satisfied, even when he had achieved apparent perfection and his life was a restless pursuit of what he didn’t have. This film is no hagiography and paints what feels like an honest portrait of an extraordinary talent.