This Sporting Life

There are plenty of movies out there that revolve around sport...many of them are quite memorable in our society. Some, like Miracle, depict a historical moment, some, like Field of Dreams, center around fictional events, and others like Caddyshack are just about the fun of the game. Today's subject follows a sport not among the top followed sports here in America, but one that is beloved around the world. It follows a rugby player in Britain in the 1960’s and depicts his life on and off the playing field. A story about fame and unrequited love from a unique voice in British cinematic history.

So if you’re like me and you enjoy film and the impact and emotions it can convey then grab a glass of your preferred liquid and join me for the next half hour. For me, that’s a bottle of Labatt Blue from our friends inn the great city of Toronto. So sit back, relax, and let’s talk about the love of film. Welcome to “Glazed Cinema“

Today's subject is by a great British director by the name of Lindsay Anderson. Those who are familiar with his filmography will undoubtedly know which film is today's subject. It’s a film based on a novel by an ex-rugby player, David Storey, who also wrote the screenplay.

This Sporting Life is a film about many things. Rugby, celebrity, unrequited love, and the juxtaposition of classes. It‘s a film that drew me in quite easily thanks to the actors on the screen and how the story played out in front of me. The film follows Frank Machin, an ex-miner turned rugby star, who lives with a widow, Mrs. Hammond and her two young children. Frank is a short tempered, oppressive, and a brutish man, who is in love with his landlady. A man who channels emotions through physical outbursts and aggression. Mrs. Hammond, loyal to her late husband matches his brutish nature with blunt honesty and cutting commentary on his character and lifestyle. It’s a film that is uncomfortable, yet magnetizing all at once. Backed by brilliant performances of its leads the film has built a reputation as one of Britain’s finest films, regularly making the BFI’s list of ‘Top 100 British Films Ever Made’.

Released in 1963 and told through black and white film, its story is told in a fragmented way, much like the relationship between the two leads. We as the audience see things happen in both present and flashback, challenging us at every turn. The leads, Frank Machin, played by Richard Harris and Margaret Hammond played by Rachel Roberts are phenomenal. The pair under Lindsey Anderson's direction bring a rawness to the screen that feels gritty and truthful. This is undoubtedly aided by Anderson’s past experience of a documentary filmmaker. Prior to making ‘This Sporting Life‘, Anderson had directed documentaries of various topics like Meet the Pioneers, an upbeat account of work in the coal industry, O Dreamland, depicting a day at an amusement park, and Thursday’s Children, about The Royal School for the Deaf. The latter of which earned him an Academy Award for best documentary short. I think it's that background that makes This Sporting Life feel all the more candid.

This Sporting Life was among films made in an art movement in Britain called Kitchen Sink Realism. Prior to this movement, British visual media usually depicted the working class in unrealistic vantage points. Stereotypes and a rose tinted view filled the void in a country and time where the economic class structure continued to widen. The Kitchen Sink movement, which stretched from the 50’s to the early 60’s intended to inject a different viewpoint. One of everyday people dealing with everyday life and tackled topics unseen to that point. Things like disintegrating marriages, homelessness, sexual orientation, and discrimination, and thwarted aspirations. Influenced by the earlier French New Wave, British filmmakers released movies in the same vein and in doing so broke through norms and reached fertile ground.

A lot of the time leads in these films were angsty, rebellious young men and women. Kitchen Sink Realism brought a new sense of story to British cinema and with it came legendary films that are revered to this day. These include The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, and Kes. This Sporting Life is wholeheartedly a Kitchen Sink film and one of its greatest byproducts.

The film is fill of juxtaposition, irony, and grit. Frank, who once scoffed at the idea of sport and making heroes of the men who play to crowds becomes an overnight celebrity himself. When he gets a tryout for the local rugby team he is offered a substantial contract, totaling one thousand pounds, twenty five thousand pounds in today’s economy. Unlike some of his teammates however he doesn’t play for the love of the game however, just the coin he gets in return. Frank sums his attitude towards rugby best when he says, “I don’t enjoy getting kicked around the football field for other people’s amusement. I only enjoy it if I’ve been paid a lot for it.” He’s a man who enjoys providing for those he cares for as much as he does impressing his success on those around him. At times these intertwine and blur his true motives.

Margaret is Frank’s landlady and mother of two children, acutely aware of what those around her think of her living situation. She loves her late husband and has his boots by the hearth, polishing them regularly. Calloused by her past and the tragic loss of her husband she bottles her emotions to a boiling point. She has a caustic tongue, which helps release some of that pressure, but only makes her home life with Frank all the more strained.

It’s not all stressful however, as the two do have moments when they seem happy. Frank is also very good to her two children, regularly playing with them and making sure they are provided for. One scene in particular illustrates this than the scene in which Frank take Mrs. Hammond and her children to the country side for a fun afternoon. In the shadows of a castle ruin Frank and the children play ball as he chases them around, imitating rugby passing. Margaret looks on, smiling while her children play happily in the grass. There are moments of this type of calmness sprinkled through the movie that give a bit of reprieve from the at home sparring sessions that Frank and Margaret get themselves into.

The film plays out in the town of Yorkshire, England, which in the film is embodied as an environment equally to the contrast of Frank and Margaret’s relationship. Yorkshire is a working class town. Throughout the film we see shots of factories, power stations, and smokestacks. The town comes out every game day to cheer on the boys who perform to beat their rival clubs; scenes of the pulsating and jeering crowd below power station chimneys speak to the environment and passion. Outside of the city limits the population is more sparse and quaint. Home to castles and abbeys, it’s a place of lush grass, towering hills, flowing creeks, and beauty.

It was the allure of the acclaim the performances had that drew me to the picture. At the time I was in the thralls of exploring film and discovering works from unfamiliar directors. With this film I was intrigued, as I usually am, by its cover art and sought out more information about it. Stumbling upon an article that boasted a claim that Harris’s performance rivaled Brando’s in On the Waterfront, my curiosity was piqued. Such high praise and yet at the same time, a bold claim I thought. So, I sat down and watched it...I was not expecting what I saw.

This Sporting Life did many things for me as a viewer. At times I felt confused by the cuts and disjointed storytelling, while loving the pace. Other times I found my self at odds with the leads’ choices…as a man, particularly Frank’s. To be Frank…pun very much intended…is to be a brute or as Margaret calls him, a great ape. He’s an overly aggressive man, whose emotions are so foreign to him that violence is the only outlet he knows. I opposed his attitude and rationale toward decision making, but felt myself melt into the film. It made a tremendous impression on me as to what is possible with acting and direction. I always come back to it when someone asks about great acting as I believe it's among the very best examples we have. By the end of it all I was quite moved and inspired. As I said before it lives in the uncomfortable, but it's done so well that I revisit it from time to time. It also made me want to see more of Anderson's works and have really enjoyed his other releases.

This Sporting Life is a film that sadly was underappreciated in its time. It didn't do well at the box office, but despite that it did impress critics upon its release. Anderson followed this up with another full length feature film in 1968, which shocked audiences the world over and garnered respect and acclaim. A film about a young man named Mick Travis and his friends in a boarding school, allegorizing British society called if... With if's success This Sporting Life gained attention from a new generation and started gaining a larger audience and praise. Over the years, Anderson's debut feature remains a highlight of Britain's film history.

This Sporting Life boasts tremendous performances from Harris and Roberts. Each approaches their role with so much honesty, vulnerability, and emotion that it’s easy to get lost in the movie. As brilliant as Harris was in this role, Roberts is equally up to task. If there’s one thing to point to in this film it surely is the performances they put to film. Both of whom ended up winning awards for their efforts including a BAFTA for Best Actress and Best Actor at Cannes. They were also both nominated for Oscars that year. As for the claim that Harris’ performance equals that of Brando’s in On the Waterfront, well I’m not sure. They are certainly not equal, simply because they’re so different, much like This Sporting Life was to the sports movie. It’s funny, I was trying to think of another sports movie that is anything like this one. I could only really think of a solitary example. A movie equally about life on the field and off the field and portrayed with such honesty and realism. The only film that came to mind, was Raging Bull.

If you’d like to watch This Sporting Life for yourself you can find it on a variety of streaming services. At the time of this recording you can find it on The Criterion Channel. The Criterion Channel is a streaming service from our friends at the Criterion Collection with pricing options of either $9.99 per month or $99 per year, which is what I chose to do.

You can also find it on other services including Prime Video and Apple TV for $3.99 to rent.

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