This is the story of the tragic battles fought by the most important Italian cyclist of his generation; man verses mountain, athlete verses addiction, Marco Pantani verses himself.
Stylishly constructed but hollow and ultimately lacking in insights.
Similar to Asif Kapadia’s Senna, the pacey mix of grueling archive footage and poignant personal probing makes it essential watching, even for anyone who can’t stand the sport.
James Erskine’s film attempts to get inside this visceral world via the prism of the heroic Pantani, a man more loved than any cyclist in living memory.
Bradley Wiggins, Evgeni Berzin and close friends build up an intriguing portrait of a man exposed as a drug cheat, yet who still commands a reverence that disgraced Lance Armstrong would give his eye teeth for.
James Erskine's film about the life and death of Italian cyclist Marco Pantani features thrilling footage and revealing interviews, even if it can't close the book on the doping allegations.
It makes for a great story but Pantani remains an elusive figure and the film is annoyingly inconclusive and evasive – more determined to cheer his achievements than explore the bigger picture of his rise and fall.
With no convincing theories about why this multi-millionaire sportsman was so ill-equipped to deal with his fall from grace, all we’re left with is a mealy-mouthed attempt to present Pantani as a martyred victim of a thoroughly corrupted sport.
This may be a romanticised account but it makes a persuasive case for its subject and makes us understand why, before his fall from grace, he was so adored by every rung of Italian society.
Erskine’s documentary requires a few less shots of misty mountain roads and more specific investigation of the detail of Pantani’s fall from grace.
Does justice to a rare talent while never shying away from the sport's much publicised darker side.
The film sidesteps any definitive conclusions, and the dramatised reconstructions jar, but you're left with the impression that the charismatic Pantani was more sinned against than sinning.
Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Friday May 16, 2014, until Thursday June 5, 2014. More info: www.filmhousecinema.com
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Friday July 4, 2014, until Monday July 7, 2014. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/
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