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Cinematical - Boxing is a brutal sport. Does that mean you have to be a brute to succeed in it? Mike Tyson was the youngest ever heavyweight champion in the world; when he stepped into the ring, it was as if he was in absolute control over everything that happened. And when he stepped out, it was as if he had no control over anything that happened. He had a marriage implode in public. He served three years in prison for rape. He became a nightmare-parody of himself, pathetic and terrifying, telling challengers he would eat their children. And now, as seen in James Toback’s documentary Tyson, he is older, sadder, sober, off drugs and out of the fight game, trying to battle things you cannot simply strike with your fists.
Directed by friend and fan Toback (Fingers, Black and White), Tyson is a well-made documentary that walks the line between heroic celebration and humble confession. We’re reminded, in a fast-paced sequence that cuts between fights, of just how fierce and fearsome Tyson was in the ring, knocking opponents down with lightning speed; he explains his own style, “… punches thrown with bad intent and the speed of the devil.” He also speaks frankly about his own mistakes, and about his battles with drugs.
It’d be easy to see parallels between Toback and Tyson; both have fought with addiction and struggled with their way in the world, albeit with Toback doing so under far less scrutiny. And Tyson never strains to reach for meaning to a degree that feels phony or false, although I’m fairly sure that others will be glad to do that on its behalf. (After the screening at the Salle Debussy last night, it was easy to half-jokingly imagine some beret-clad Euro-intellectual over-analyzing the film: “Tyson, he is America …”) But the documentary’s not simply plain-spoken interviews, either; Toback judiciously incorporates archival footage, and often breaks the screen into split segments as Tyson’s voice and stories overlap themselves… [Full Story]
