Myth and Legend is all we have of Graeme Obree with all the local cyclists around Ayrshire (Scotland). So many stories of Obree in his youth! Was it him who the cycling club asked to take the shopping basket off his bike before running it a race? A race he won? I had to read the book to find out more. Then the film was made and through a long process finally released and DVD'd. It's an amazing story, and you'd think it was a Hollywood work of fiction.Graeme tried to beat the one-hour record and failed. Yet, his determination was to try again less than 24 hours later. Driven by his depression, he fought to beat himself to that record.Let down by UK cycling where he received none of the funding of other high-profile cyclists, he innovated new riding styles and pushed himself further. Only to find the governing body of cycling to ban his innovations.Even when Graeme was accepted in to the professional cycling world it was on a condition that he couldn't accept - to cheat. Graeme refused to take performance enhancing drugs.Throughout all this his darkest enemy of depression haunts him. But one person stands by him: His wife, Anne.This film only gives a glimpse of Obree's struggles, yet, it's funny and uplifting. Sure, it's low budget, but when you have actors such as Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Boyd working with a terrific script you need little else.Graeme Obree. Legend.

I've been a keen follower of cycling for 50 years and of course these included the Obree era, so I have some recollection of the actual events.This film seemed a reasonably accurate portrayal, allowing for the need to be discreet about some of the supporting characters, not least the "WCF" officials. I'll need to read Obree's own book to find out about the people in his camp.At the time of his racing successes, nothing was known of his problems with depression, though Obree became refreshingly frank about these later on.A viewer with no knowledge of the sport might be forgiven for assuming that the film started with Obree as a very ordinary rider who came from obscurity to beating the world. In fact he was a very accomplished racer on the British scene and, as he briefly mentions, had gone head-to-head with Chris Boardman before the film started.I did wonder about the scenes showing Obree riding along with a rucksack on his back - something very few experienced cyclists do. And I've a feeling that the "Superman" bars gave an even more extended riding position than that shown towards the end of the film - perhaps it was too extended for an actor to handle.Overall, an enjoyable film.

The story of Graeme Obree, an essentially amateur cyclist who competed with the best, is quite remarkable, but that's not to say it makes for a great film. The narrative arc of this movie is dreadfully predictable, and attempts to make play from Obree's struggles with depression are limited by the cartoonish way in which the officials with whom he was often in conflict are depicted. Perhaps the real problem is that Obree is the sort of hero who fits the Scottish self-image too well, the plucky underdog (celebrated in the unimaginative title of this movie) is just too comfortable a figure (in terms of how he fits with how the Scots would like to see themselves); there's no 'Trainspotting'-style iconoclasm here. Maybe it would have been better to make a documentary; the details of how Obree fashioned a competitive bike with his own hands (and to his own, revolutionary design) are fascinating - but not the stuff the fiction, and told as a drama, the result is a little dull.

Were this to have been a sports movie, it would have still been very much worth the ticket. However, the personal story and the battles he had to fight turned this into something so much more. I took my wife, my son and his girlfriend to see this and we all came away feeling the same. 3 of us knew so much about Graeme Obree, but my son's girlfriend had never heard of him, and has no interest in most sport, especially not cycling. That we all loved it says they got that balance right. The cast were excellent with Jonny Lee Miller playing Obree to perfection. Ably supported by Billy Boyd and Brian Cox and Laura Fraser as his wife. This film may do something to raise the profile of amateur cycling. However, even more importantly, it may highlight the issues associated with mental illness. Try to see it, you will not regret it.