One of the best films I’ve seen in a long time, and maybe my personal favourite new release since Phantom Thread. For me, this was an utter delight just about from start to finish. Propulsive, kinetic filmmaking about obsessive people who just want to be the best, and their twisted ways of manipulating one another into making them perform? All put to a Reznor/Ross soundtrack that slaps like The Social Network and with tension levels that very nearly rival Whiplash?
It’s like this was made for me personally.
On a serious note, I’m a sucker for movies about people who are good at their craft, but I’m also a sucker for movies about people who wander into complacency in their thirties (I am 33 at the time of writing). I’m also deeply motivated by my own self-loathing. Given the characters the film is concerned with, it’s probably clear by now that I felt like I watched a movie made about my own personality flaws. I felt seen.
But even if none of that were the case, this is so well crafted and it goes for broke. Even in the rare cases it doesn’t work, I admire it for trying. It’s clunky to watch a tennis match from the perspective of the ball, but it’s also really freaking cool.
Probably my favourite sports film since Raging Bull.