The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

I just watched The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), a film which I'd never seen before. I read the story quite awhile ago...I can't remember if it was in high school or college, but even if it was the latter, we're still talking about 35 years since my eyes touched the page. But I have thought about that story off and on over the intervening years. Not in any specific way. In fact, I couldn't tell you a single thing about the story itself. But it gave me a feeling which remained with me over the years. A sense of the desperation which lies curled up in the center of the shelled walnut of life. Like a desiccated fetus.

And I was recently contacted by a former student who was a runner, so that brought the whole thing thundering back into my brain. I meant to read the story, but as I was looking for it online at the Louisville Free Public Library website, I saw that someone had had the temerity to make a movie of it, and I thought I'd have a go at that. 

Just watched it this morning.

Y'know, it's funny. This wasn't a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. The sound was bad...in the way that all British films from the 60s seem to be bad, kind of muffled and empty. And for the most part there was either no music or really bad music--the happy spritely tune with lots of flutes kind of music. And there were some extremely corny directorial choices--for instance, there were three times when the film was speeded up...for no apparent reason, and much to the detriment of the story, I thought, in that it trivialized what was going on. And the actors who played The Boys all looked like they were in their forties...though I don't suppose they were. The guy who played the lead was 25. Sure looked older than that, though. (All of which reminded me of Orwell's nasty and funny comments about The Ugliness of the British People.) And I think the fight choreography in this film was the worst I have ever seen in my half a century's worth (plus a few years--I started young) of movie viewing. But despite all of that...this movie was about something. About something more than the brutality of human nature and the lack of possibilities for redemption or salvation. And yes, I am thinking of Red Sparrow there. 

Watching this movie also made me feel like reading the short story again. Think I'll go hit the library website again.