Movie

This Sporting Life

1963 · 134 min

A cold, bruising black-and-white study of a brutal man who cannot articulate tenderness, leaving you aching and unsettled long after.

Tagline: He only believed in strength - love was a word he hadn't the power to say.
Overview: In early 1960s Northern England, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an immediate star in the rugby league team run by local employer Weaver.
How it feels: Bleak, melancholic, dark and earnest. Slow-burning and demanding.
About: Isolation, class, grief, obsession
Content: Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: bleakstrength 3 of 3
melancholicstrength 3 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: isolation
class
grief
obsession
loneliness
Places: small town
workplace
home
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild