The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

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Russ G 05/17/2024 Just saw this showing up on TCM again this month, so I had to come and say how much this movie sucked when I saw it some time ago. Pointless nonsense. See more Alec B @Alec97 01/09/2024 Appropriately angry as it is one of the definitive films of the British New Wave. Tom Courtenay gives a hell of a performance, especially with his eyes. See more Leaburn O 08/23/2023 Another British kitchen sink drama that made it onto the BFI Top 100 list. It's also another reminder of just how poor so much of UK cinema was in the 50s and 60s. The plot is far fetched even though it's meant to be grounded in realism. There are clear left wing undertones but the film is really let down by poor acting. Why on earth couldn't they at least find actors who could actually run? Bought the BluRay of this one as not on streaming or tv. Cost was fairly mild but not the cheapest. See more Shioka O 10/17/2022 It was unexpectedly enjoyable. A crime/prison film from the UK New-wave counter culture, stylish. Wear proper jackets and shirts in prison? See more dave s 12/01/2020 Adapted by Alan Sillitoe from his own novel, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner is a character study of a troubled young man from a bleak area of northern England who is sent to a juvenile detention center for the crime of stealing from a bakery. An example of the British New Wave, it is a dark and somber film, shot primarily in black and white with a hand-held camera, that effectively captures the inner turmoil of the protagonist through unsettling flashbacks. The movie is hurt by an odd music score, which swings from upbeat jazz to something that sounds like it's from a Three Stooges film to choral music. The sound mixing is also jarring, perhaps deliberately, as a handful of scenes either start or finish in silence with no ambient noise. Despite this, it is a film worth watching but will not satisfy all tastes. See more William L 11/02/2020 Disaffected youth have always been prime territory for writers (of both literature and film) and directors to explore larger issues of society, and the various New Wave movements seemed to take to it as well as any other. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner looks into the general dreariness and lack of potential that a young generation saw little to latch on to in the postwar decades, and the society that decided not to invest in alleviating their plight rather than confining them to a 'useful' role. The protagonist, Courtenay's Smith, ultimately decides to forego "redemption" when presented with the opportunity and instead chooses to humiliate the system he sees as having condemned him to his current condition instead, made manifest by Redgrave's Governor. While many may empathize with the theme, the film ultimately seems to lack real nuance or to reflect the true complexity of midcentury social structures, instead leaning more towards a general antiauthoritarianism. The jazzy theme is a nice touch, though. (3.5/5) See more Read all reviews

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

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