The Long Run
3/4
Starring: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Nthati Moshesh, Paterson Joseph, Desmond Dube
Rated R for Some Language and Nudity
Running is a huge sport because it's so easy to do. Everyone runs for one reason or another, and to do it for exercise, all you need is a good pair of shoes and weather appropriate clothing. Most run for exercise or for fun, but some run competitively. Then there's Barry Bohmer, whose whole life revolves around running, specifically the Comrades Ultramarathon.
Barry (Mueller-Stahl) is a running coach in South Africa. He is training, with the sponsorship of a brick-making company, four runners for the legendary Comrades Ultramarathon. But due to political correctness, Barry is forced to retire three years early, and replaced with a new hotshot named Gasa (Joseph). For Barry, this is a crushing blow to his soul. Then he sees a woman running, and she piques his attention. Her name is Christine Moyo (Moshesh), an illegal immigrant. After she is arrested by immigration, he springs her from immigration to train her for the Comrades. Barry puts her on an intense regimen, but while Christine has talent, she doesn't have his passion (or interest).
"The Long Run" is a sports movie, but it's an atypical one. While the final race is important, that's not the film's focus. This is really about Barry's redemption, so to speak. Barry is not a bad man. He is a control freak, yes, but not out of malice or sadism. He wants to coach someone who will finish the Comrades, and he thinks he has found it in Christine. What he doesn't understand is that her interest in running the marathon is minimal. She runs as a hobby, and Barry forces her to do it competitively without meaning to. Barry's tunnel vision is irritating Christine to no end ("You can't have my life," she tells him in frustration).
The acting by the two leads, German legend Armin Mueller-Stahl and newcomer Nthati Moshesh, is wonderful. Mueller-Stahl plays Barry as an obsessive, but good-natured, man. He's got tunnel vision to the extreme and prone to melodramatics. I was reminded of Alfred Kinsey, whose interest in sex was so focused he had no idea that he might be hurting someone. Barry is the same way; he can't understand that Christine isn't as interested in the race as he is. For her part, Nthati Moshesh makes a sparkling debut. Christine is paying lip service to the man who helped her, but when he is controlling every part of her life, she won't have it anymore. But she does care about him; the relationship between them is non-sexual, but the chemistry between them is strong. Paterson Joseph is perfectly sleazy as the man who tries to steal Christine away from Barry, but his character is underdeveloped. More time fleshing him out would have helped the film.
Less impressive is the direction by Jean Stewart. The pacing is uneven and the film has a tenuous emotional flow. She never finds a storytelling rhythm, which hampers its effectiveness. Some scenes are too short and don't feel complete, and the editing is a little odd. Of greater surprise is the cinematography. Few places are more beautiful than tropical Africa, but Stewart fails to capture its majesty nor give the film a sense of place. While the budget may have limited her camera options, that doesn't excuse it. The film has a gray overcast feel, and Stewart doesn't take time to establish a personality for South Africa. It feels like any other place. Only during the Comrades race does the film take off from a visual standpoint.
I liked this film, although it's indie roots are apparent. It's not Dogma 95, but there's less melodrama and plot. It's more of a character study than a sports movie, and on that level, the film works.
Starring: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Nthati Moshesh, Paterson Joseph, Desmond Dube
Rated R for Some Language and Nudity
Running is a huge sport because it's so easy to do. Everyone runs for one reason or another, and to do it for exercise, all you need is a good pair of shoes and weather appropriate clothing. Most run for exercise or for fun, but some run competitively. Then there's Barry Bohmer, whose whole life revolves around running, specifically the Comrades Ultramarathon.
Barry (Mueller-Stahl) is a running coach in South Africa. He is training, with the sponsorship of a brick-making company, four runners for the legendary Comrades Ultramarathon. But due to political correctness, Barry is forced to retire three years early, and replaced with a new hotshot named Gasa (Joseph). For Barry, this is a crushing blow to his soul. Then he sees a woman running, and she piques his attention. Her name is Christine Moyo (Moshesh), an illegal immigrant. After she is arrested by immigration, he springs her from immigration to train her for the Comrades. Barry puts her on an intense regimen, but while Christine has talent, she doesn't have his passion (or interest).
"The Long Run" is a sports movie, but it's an atypical one. While the final race is important, that's not the film's focus. This is really about Barry's redemption, so to speak. Barry is not a bad man. He is a control freak, yes, but not out of malice or sadism. He wants to coach someone who will finish the Comrades, and he thinks he has found it in Christine. What he doesn't understand is that her interest in running the marathon is minimal. She runs as a hobby, and Barry forces her to do it competitively without meaning to. Barry's tunnel vision is irritating Christine to no end ("You can't have my life," she tells him in frustration).
The acting by the two leads, German legend Armin Mueller-Stahl and newcomer Nthati Moshesh, is wonderful. Mueller-Stahl plays Barry as an obsessive, but good-natured, man. He's got tunnel vision to the extreme and prone to melodramatics. I was reminded of Alfred Kinsey, whose interest in sex was so focused he had no idea that he might be hurting someone. Barry is the same way; he can't understand that Christine isn't as interested in the race as he is. For her part, Nthati Moshesh makes a sparkling debut. Christine is paying lip service to the man who helped her, but when he is controlling every part of her life, she won't have it anymore. But she does care about him; the relationship between them is non-sexual, but the chemistry between them is strong. Paterson Joseph is perfectly sleazy as the man who tries to steal Christine away from Barry, but his character is underdeveloped. More time fleshing him out would have helped the film.
Less impressive is the direction by Jean Stewart. The pacing is uneven and the film has a tenuous emotional flow. She never finds a storytelling rhythm, which hampers its effectiveness. Some scenes are too short and don't feel complete, and the editing is a little odd. Of greater surprise is the cinematography. Few places are more beautiful than tropical Africa, but Stewart fails to capture its majesty nor give the film a sense of place. While the budget may have limited her camera options, that doesn't excuse it. The film has a gray overcast feel, and Stewart doesn't take time to establish a personality for South Africa. It feels like any other place. Only during the Comrades race does the film take off from a visual standpoint.
I liked this film, although it's indie roots are apparent. It's not Dogma 95, but there's less melodrama and plot. It's more of a character study than a sports movie, and on that level, the film works.
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