Director: Richard De Aragues.
Cast: Guy Martin, Ian Hutchinson And John McGuinness.
Closer To The Edge is a documentary film like no other charting a race like no other. Full of visceral scenes and idiosyncratic characters, it brings the viewer into an alien world. A world that is fast-paced and a world that seems to suggest that life is cheap.
The Isle Of Man Tourist Trophy or TT is the most dangerous race on the planet. Every year hundreds of motorcyclists pitt themselves against the toughest and most lethal course in the world. And every year an average of more than two people lay down their lives for these uncaring and remorseless roads. Two things make this race treacherous the extreme speeds of 200 miles an hour and normal, narrow public roads. Err and you will crash. If the competitors are unlucky and going fast enough the crash could turn out to be fatal.
‘There is no getting away from the fact that Closer To The Edge highlights a disturbing aspect of humanity’
Guy Martin, a 28 year old motorcyclist, is the focus of this documentary and it doesn’t take long to understand why the director decided to base this film around his personality. Endearing, charismatic, frank, yet highly egotistical and petulant, he is above all interesting and has a lot to say. Martin provides an accessible entry into this bizarre and highly lethal world.
There is no getting away from the fact that Closer To The Edge highlights a disturbing aspect of humanity. Our addiction to hedonism. Whether it comes from illegal drugs or from adrenaline, there is a clear addiction to forms of pleasure. The TT just happens to be the drug of choice for the entrants. Racing is prioritised and given a higher value than both one’s own life and the effects of a motorcyclist’s death on family and loved ones. It is this distortion of values that is simultaneously intriguing and horrifying.
Even the paramedics that patrol the Island of Jersey during the TT races are not immune. One paramedic claims that only the brave ones make it around the course at full tilt. On screen, he comes across as being in awe of these racers. Something which is highly unusual given the role his profession plays in saving lives.
‘His histrionic personality is a double-edged sword’
Not everything goes to plan for Martin. When things don’t go his way, we don’t see an adult but a spoiled child respond. More antagonistic brat than a man of 28 years, his attitude belies his age. It is at this point that Martin starts to grate on the viewer.
When he gets penalised for breaking the speed limit during a pit stop he expects the racing organisation to bend the rules to accommodate him rather than a more conciliatory and grown-up response. His histrionic personality is a double-edged sword – on one side it makes him compelling viewing, on the other, his antics start to irritate as the film progresses.
Perhaps this sense of a lack of maturity is at the root of why these men and women continue to race year in year out. They do this despite the great risks and the inevitability that every time they race, they are increasing the odds that they will suffer a crash. It only takes a particularly bad crash to result in death.
‘but we are also witnessing the effects of addiction in a manner that is completely different to its usual portrayal’
Closer To The Edge provides many insights. We visually see what it is like to race at tremendous speeds with absolutely no room for error. We see what happens when the inevitable occurs and a crash results. We also see the effects the deaths of riders have on their families and the greater community. These points are all obvious and immediate but we are also witnessing the effects of addiction in a manner that is completely different to its usual portrayal.
Whereas when you look at a drug addict, or an alcoholic – you are more inclined to see the role of a substance causing the destruction of the individual, in Closer To The Edge it is something deeper, something that has more individual meaning. What we see is a first-hand examination of the role addiction, as a psychological concept, plays in people’s lives. Devoid of the substance abuse we can see clearer the common personality traits that drive these motorcyclists.
‘Friends, family, lovers and husbands and wives are all secondary next to their overwhelming desire to race without any protection.’
All of the people that are interviewed in the film have a stoical disregard for the own safety. Despite all their injuries and the deaths of their friends, they continue to race and will probably continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Friends, family, lovers and husbands and wives are all secondary next to their overwhelming desire to race without any protection.
TT3D: Closer To The Edge has something for everything. The cinematographer is stunning and the course is terrifying. The crashes that were filmed are horrendous to look at. If you want a film that delves without bias into the psychology of thrill-seekers – this film is for you. If you just want a film that is visceral then Closer To The Edge will not disappoint either.
{ 2 trackbacks }