Stiumlating cinema: The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner

Director: Tony Richardson
Year released: 1962

You wouldn't know it to look at me now, but I used to be a long distance runner. In a slightly (okay, extremely) obsessive quest to keep my weight in check, I took up running the mid-2000s. Several nights each week after returning from work--and for me this means 12:30 or 1 in the morning--I would don my gear and go out for a run.

Now my neighborhood was not the best; in fact, at times my route would take me through some not-very-safe areas. It's truly a miracle I was never accosted, attacked or even really hassled very much. But then again, think about it. Someone who is out pounding the pavement at 2 in the morning in the middle of downtown in a large U.S. city obviously has to be a little off in the head, a little nuts. And it's kind of true, although "single-minded" might be a more apt description. I remember the kind guard at the building where I lived would just laugh and shake his head at me whenever I went out--rain, snow, near tornadoes, it didn't matter. At one point I was up to 10 or 11 miles a pop, an absurd amount if you aren't training for anything (which I wasn't).

I marvel at this single-minded pursuit of something, however strange it might be. Where did it go? I sure don't have it now and my waistline backs that up. But I can relate to the character in this great classic of British cinema, who runs not because he necessarily wants to but because--for whatever reason--he has too.

Colin Smith (Tom Courtenay) is a rebel growing up in 1960s Britain. When we first see him, he has been shipped off to a reform school called Ruxton Towers. He is determined not to play by the rules--at one point hilariously bewildering the staff psychologist who is trying find out what makes him tick. We see--in flashback--what brought him to this point. His father dies after drinking poison to escape the constant pain of disease. Sadly, only Colin seems to care--his younger brothers and sisters are blissfully unaware of the significance of the event and Colin's mom (Avis Bunnage) is only to quick to cash in the life insurance policy and go on a massive spending binge (on a side note, it's amazing to see what 500 pounds bought you back in '62).

Colin finds some happiness and solace in pretty Audrey (Topsy Jane) and larks about with his mate. Already dabbling in petty crime, the boys impulsively rob a baker's one night. The crime goes down well enough but eventually the law catches up to our Col, thanks in no small part to a very untimely rainstorm.

Earlier, in the scenes at the reform school, we learn Colin has an aptitude for long distance running. This talent attracts the eye of the school's head (Michael Redgrave). He's keen to beat a nearby rival public (private in the U.S.) school on "Sports Day" and pins a great deal of hope on Colin and his ability. He's kind enough, but he's only being nice to Colin because of what Colin can do for him. And Colin goes along, soaking up the perks--unsupervised training runs and a cushy job in the garden--while not being fully vested in being the governor's fair-haired boy. The climax of the movie comes on race day, when Colin faces off with his posh rival who is like him in so many ways, but with much better breaks along the road.

Adapted from Alan Sillitoe's equally good short story, "Runner" is a real revelation. Shot in glorious black and white--the beach scenes in Skegness are especially grand--it looks great visually. And the tone, set early on by mopey, wanna-be rebel Colin, stays high throughout. "Runner" touches on themes of dysfunctional families, class conflicts and yes, loneliness. When it's just you and the pavement, the mind can conjure up just about anything.