Review of This Sporting Life (1963) by Darren S — 03 Nov 2007

Fascinating and often brutal portrait of a man gradually destroying himself by failing to get a grip on his own emotions. What a face Richard Harris has! You can spend the whole movie exploring its contours.

If you've only seen him in the Harry Potter movies, you must watch him in his prime. He was a beast. Here he oozes primal brute force, perhaps comparable to Brando in 'A Streetcar Named Desire,' except more desperate, more needy.

His outbursts are shocking. Rachel Roberts shows a vulnerable side that you can't really see in other movies like 'Picnic at Hanging Rock.' The relationship between the two of them is so infused with emotion and heartache.

And those rugby scenes are quite vivid and intense, with the dirt and grime and blood and, oh, that thundrous sound!