The Flying Scotsman (2006)

I would seriously recommend seeing this film which has tremendous performances from Brian Cox, Johnny Lee Miller and the rest of this very strong cast.

I was very lucky to see it during the recent Edinburgh Film Festival and hopefully it will get distribution very soon. It certainly deserves to.

It tells the amazing story of Graeme Obree, a true living Scottish legend as he struggled with both his own situation and ultimately once wins against the cruel World Cycling Authorities.

Go see it!

Fmovies: I'm just home from enjoying one of the most exciting cinema experiences of my 51 years. As a recreational cyclist, and having trained hard and at least attempted racing, I knew that I would enjoy a film which focused on the life of a real athlete - rather than a fictional styling (Breaking Away) or one race (Hell On Wheels).

With 50% Scot blood in my veins I felt at home with the voices and scenery, but I found myself quickly intensely involved with the characters and swept away by the quality of the cinematography and the stunning surround sound. I've pre-ordered the DVD - but this is the very definition of big screen cinema entertainment.

In the late night screening I was lucky to have a whole row to myself - so no one witnessed my emotional gasps, or the times during the races when I was literally shaking with excitement.

I loved the way that Graeme's struggle with manic depression is given respectful depth - especially since his illness was an integral part of what drove him obsessively to achieve. Too few films deal effectively with the stress and reality of being bipolar. We need to see that he is loved, respected and supported as living with a mental illness, but also that he can accept polite active intervention.

This is a remarkable story - extremely well told. Full praise to all of the cast - especially Jonny Lee Miller, who looks and lives the part and to Brian Cox, one of Britain's greatest dramatic actors (see "The Lost Language Of Cranes").

We're told by other reviewers that the film is a more than adequate precis of Graeme's story, so I'm very much looking forward to reading his book.

Having read the book several years ago, and recalled the achievements of Graeme Obree back in the early nineties, I knew that this film would at least be inspiring. In some ways, this film reminded me of the last Scottish athlete to be given the nickname 'The Flying Scotsman', the great Eric Liddle. Both were criticised for their unorthodox styles, even though it gained them great success and honour. Both men, also engendered wide criticism, although for different reasons. The film is honest and direct, as it deals with issues like bullying and depression, which are suffered by so many. Like Obree, many people try to deal with such problems on their own. Jonny Lee Miller does well to portray the agony and ecstasy of professional competition. Laura Fraser(Ann Obree) plays his supportive wife, serenely, but with an underlying earthiness. His friend and manager Malky(Billy Boyd) follows his highs and lows. Douglas Baxter plays the wise local parish minister, Brian Cox, who offers his workshop and scrap metal, along with much needed moral support. Cox is almost a second father figure to young Obree. With the addition of the obvious high drama of the competitions, this film is superb.

The Flying Scotsman fmovies. I saw it in Aberdeen on Sat night, I wasn't really expecting much as sporting films are usually bordering on rubbish but it was very entertaining. Everyone quotes the bike "built from washing machine parts" but very seldom is Graeme Obree acknowledged as the superb (drug-free) athlete that he was. I would recommend it, although it does over simplify events, as cinema usually does, but it was 90 mins well spent. I hope Graeme benefits from its release. Her indoors also thoroughly enjoyed it even if it was very much, my choice of film. I would recommend it if you just enjoy a good story. In fact it is such a good tale that sometimes it is easy to forget that it is a true story and just how heroic Graeme Obree 's feats were.

Being a relative of Graeme ( albeit fairly distant - his father and my mother were cousins)I knew the story well - I keep close contact with his Aunt ( My Mothers cousin)who would update me on how the "Scottish branch" of the family were doing. I followed Graemes career closely and remember vividly seeing his triumphs on the news. I knew about some of the issues he had to face in his life, the adversity that he had to overcome time and time again. Sitting down in a PACKED movie theatre in Christchurch NZ, I felt tremendously proud of him and e-mailed home straight away to pass on that message that, if he still has any doubts today, then I wanted him to know that, on the other side of the world, he packed a theatre out and, the chances are that, if he packed a theatre in tiny Christchurch then, he will have done so in Wellington, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne etc. Cycling is pretty popular here in the Southern Hemisphere and there were young kids in the audience who held him up as a hero. His honesty in writing his autobiography and allowing this film to be made, no holds barred is truly an inspiration because it shows that, if he can make it, become world champion twice, break the hour record, twice, without the major sponsorship and million pound technology of his contemparies, then so can they, the young lads starting out. Graeme, you were an inspiration and you still are, to MANY MANY people. And you have earned the admiration of many many people not only with your genius designs but with your honesty in facing your demons and confronting them head on. I know the Obree family continue to be very proud of you but, ultimately, you can be immensely proud of yourself and everything you have achieved. If the Cycling fraternity were to ever appoint an ambassador for the sport to get youngsters more interested in it - it really should be you. Watching the movie was painful at times but, ultimately I came out of the theatre very, very proud and I wish you and your family all the best for the future.

As director Douglas MacKinnon said making a good sports film is difficult and the road is littered with heroic failures. This is a good film partly because it is about cycling, a minority sport every nuance of which is not ingrained on the public consciousness, and partly because it is a well made piece of work which tells an amazing story. It does take liberties with the Obree story as anyone who has read his book will notice, but these are generally fairly minor and do not detract from dramatic piece. The acting is universally great as you would expect from actors of the stature of Brian Cox, Stephen Berkoff etc, and Johnny Lee Miller does a superb job as tortured genius Graeme Obree. The message is uplifting by demonstrating that those who have had an unhappy childhood and suffer from a mental illness can go on and achieve a huge amount in life as Graeme did, despite many setbacks and intransigent officialdom.