The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner | Full Movie | Movies Anywhere

The film's numerous flashbacks make heavy weather of the essentially simple story, but they fail to spoil its honesty and sardonic humor. Sir Michael Redgrave portrays, without any taint of caricature, a hearty reform school governor...

Not bad: it has realism, pathos, an interesting performance by a new young actor (Tom Courtenay, who is no Albert Finney but will do) and a cinematic liveliness rare in British films about working-class life.

Richardson, the producer and director, makes his point clearly enough, but at quite a price: bias trailing off into parody, forcefulness impaired by stylistic inconsistency, a dispiriting familiarity of approach.

Ultimately, Richardson's pot-shots at consumerism and class have lost some urgency, but the nihilistic, punky buzz packs an immortal wallop. Classic.