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Sports movies usually follow pre-ordained formula and cliché. A Rudy or a Rocky holds a dream, remains steadfast to it despite setbacks and failure, and triumphs by the final frame, leaving the cheering audience with tear-stained cheeks and grins plastered on their faces. The lesser-known Running Brave focuses on Olympic distance runner Billy Mills' struggles to overcome cultural stereotypes and the coach's perception that he didn't quite have the heart of a champion in another sports formula film.
Without Limits stretches the usual boundaries of sports movies. Although audiences may weep a bit over an athlete tragically killed before his prime, writer-director Robert Towne's film avoids the standard formula, instead striving for a character study that is supported by fine acting performances by Billy Crudup as runner Steve Prefontaine and by Donald Sutherland as Oregon University coach Bill Bowerman. In fact, the crux of the movie rests on the relationship between the stubborn iconoclast Pre (as he is nicknamed) and the patient, meticulous Bill (as he prefers to be called), instead of emphasizing Prefontaine's well-documented battles with the AAU.
Towne makes a wise choice. Those who want the political aspects of the story can read the accounts or watch the “other” film about the record setting runner, simply titled Prefontaine. Set initially in scenic Coos Bay, Oregon, it's clear that Prefontaine is no ordinary runner, content to run with the pack and use the front runners as a shield against wind resistance before breaking for the lead in the stretch run. Pre considers that widely practiced strategy “chicken shit” and strives to make racing a “work of art”:
I don't want to win unless I know I've done my best, and the only way I know how to do that is to run out front, flat out until I have nothing left.
A true running fanatic, Pre has decided that he wants to work with coach Bowerman and puts full scholarship offers from every big name program in the country on hold, waiting to see a personal word from Bowerman that he wants him for his Oregon team. The problem with that is that Bowerman has his own set system of recruiting that consists of not making personal appearances—let alone a personal appeal. He sends an assistant with a couple of team members to recruit, but discovers that he must bend a bit with Pre. A personal letter is required before the inevitable pairing takes place.
After hearing so much about coach Bowerman, anticipation is high for the first encounter, and he doesn't exude the usual successful coach characteristics. A low-key, meticulous man, Bowerman measures his runners' feet for his handcrafted waffle-iron shoes—an enterprise that will eventually evolve into the Nike corporation. Cast more in the mold of Phil Jackson, who has successfully managed the massive egos of Shaq, Kobe and the eccentric Dennis Rodman, Bowerman pays close attention to detail while imparting great wisdom about the Zen of running. He invites his runners to “become students of your events,” and thinks Pre's simplistic strategy of enduring more pain than the other guy and winning on heart and guts is insufficient. Yet he doesn't believe in “over-coaching” and continues to be a willing student himself when Pre demonstrates a new paradigm.
Turning in his finest performance since Ordinary People, where he played a father with a similar understanding heart, Sutherland patiently waits while Pre tests his latest shoe creation, quietly lets him know that he's aware of his sexual activity discretely revealing a pair of panties, and painstakingly plans a running strategy that incorporates Pre's ability to endure more pain than the other guy. Sutherland is the mentor that we'd all like to have—a man with the wisdom of a Buddhist monk who can set us straight when necessary. His bonding with Pre highlights the film. Towne is far less successful in developing a meaningful relationship between Pre and girlfriend Monica (Mary Marckx), but perhaps superficiality with women applies to the real life distance runner.
By focusing on Prefontaine's psychology and his relationship with his coach, Without Limits avoids both standard biographical and sports formula film fare. This aspect and the acting of the two lead males alone makes this overlooked film worth viewing. The end notes create more curiosity about Prefontaine's campaign against the A.A.U., though hints of his conflict are evident. More scenes like the one where Pre accosts the bumbling A.A.U. official would give better historical background, but that would detract from Towne's streamlined drama. Most famous for his Chinatown screenplay, Towne once again avoids a contrived happy ending. Undoubtedly, the studio wanted a more upbeat ending to jazz up the receipts, but the biopic plays fine as an intelligent character study of a mythologized athlete who died far too young.
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