TT3D: CLOSER TO THE EDGE

Directed By Richard De Aragues
Stars: Guy Martin, John McGuinness, Ian Hutchinson

The affable Guy Martin is a champion road racer (and recently a television presenter), ready with a smart-arse remark or blunt opinion, he’s very much his own man, refusing to be boxed or labelled but is tagged as a ‘maverick’ regardless. This film follows Guy (as well as his two rival riders, Ian Hutchinson and John McGuinness) as they train and prepare for the Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy), a competition that’s developed over more than a 100 years due the remote Isle’s once informal speed limit enforcement on its roads. Nowadays it’s a fully recognised racing competition for highly experienced riders only and for which the roads are closed but it’s bloomed into a festival that grips the whole of The Isle of Man with racing fever; a yearly test of fortitude and skill as bikes are hammered around the island at speeds in excess of 200 mph. Riders die every year, as the picturesque rural roads with their tight bends, rock walls and tiny roundabouts become deadly obstacle courses for these speed-addicted madmen. There are some catastrophic accidents depicted in the film, one rider’s bereaved wife talks of her acceptance that the risk of being killed was something that made her life with her husband that much more exhilarating. It’s moving stuff and it’s exemplary of the kind of devil-may-care attitude that the nerve-wracked wives contend with throughout the weeklong competition. The risk is high and you’ll be shaking your head in disbelief at the craziness of it all. Despite the apparent insanity of such high risk versus little reward (the prize money isn’t substantial, the race is run largely for the prestige of winning it) there’s something profoundly life-affirming and breathlessly uplifting about watching these obsessives in their chosen sport, risking their lives in pursuit of their passion. Absolutely top-notch stuff.

JARROD WALKER