Stars ace tennis greats
Winner of last year’s Oscar for best foreign language film, this Hungarian World War II drama focuses on a man who attempts to find a rabbi to help him bury the body of boy he has claimed as his son. ‘‘Unusually for a Holocaust drama, the film offers no false hope of rescue or resurrection, but does insist that our bearing witness matters,’’ wrote Toronto Globe and Mail‘ s Kate Taylor.
This week, the AC/DC singer is joined by former frontman of The Police – Sting. The pair reminisce about growing up in Newcastle, before Sting shares how he wrote Roxanne while staying in Paris’ red-light district and recalls some of the ‘‘fleapits’’ and ‘‘toilets’’ he played during his musical apprenticeship.
This 2014 documentary looks at the life of preacher’s son Vincent Furnier, who struck fear into the hearts of parents as Alice Cooper, the ultimate rock star of the bizarre. Billed as a ‘‘shockumentary’’ and ‘‘the first ever doc opera’’, ‘‘it is essentially visual collage of archive footage, animation and still photos that have been lightly manipulated to add space and movement,’’ wrote
Stephen Dalton.
As befitting a sports movie, the editing is sharp and urgent.
Borg vs. McEnroe (M) 107 mins
Idon’t follow tennis, although obviously I’ve heard of the Williams sisters and I think there was once an Aussie bloke called Pat Cash. But as a small child growing up in the 1980s even I knew all about handsome, blond Bjo¨rn Borg and angry, shouty John McEnroe.
These guys were the stuff of legend – and though it’s coming to the screen a staggering three decades after their on-court battles made history (and great TV), Borg vs. McEnroe brings them back to life in a fascinating expose´ of the behind-the-scenes psychology that drove these players and gave them the reputations they’ve carried for life.
The opening scenes throw us straight into the 1980 Wimbledon Final, and immediately we are able to suspend all disbelief that we’re watching actors in a movie, thanks to superb performances from Swede Sverrir Gudnason and American Shia LaBeouf (the latter better known to Englishspeaking audiences – for good, in Lawless and Nymphomaniac, and for bad, in Transformers).
Each man is so committed to the intricacies of his impersonation – not just through wigs and 1980s tennis garb, but in voice, accent and temperament. Gudnason is a particular revelation (probably aided by being a less-familiar face) – very much a Swedish Tom Hiddleston in his restraint and intensity. LaBeouf, unfairly derided for some previous artistic choices, is also clearly having a blast playing such an outrageous character as McEnroe.
Aesthetically, the film (directed by Danish film-maker Janus Metz) is beautifully shot, with stunning aerial photography of key matches which even a nonfan cannot help but find nailbiting. As befitting a sports movie, the editing is sharp and urgent, and we are transported to the era through impeccable period design, muted colours and a slightly misty lens. Half the film is in Swedish (with Swedish natives like Stellan Skarsgård able to let loose in their own language), which contributes to its intelligent, non-Hollywood feel.
But behind the love-alls and match points lies an incredible story about two young boys raised to be superstars, whose upbringings shape them in different ways. Nicknamed the sledgehammer and the stiletto for their contrasting styles of play, Borg always seemed the good guy – taciturn to the point of introversion, polite and agreeable against the foul-mouthed tantrumthrower, whose juvenile antics gained him a negative reputation.
Well, look out. Without stretching the truth or manipulating your emotions, this film changes your view as it reveals an impeccably constructed backstory of pressure, superstition and hypercontrol.
Borg vs. McEnroe turns out to be not just one of the most exhilarating sports movies in recent years, but a fascinating psychological profile of two legendary men. – Sarah Watt