| Tyson | ||
| Director: | James Toback |  |
| Country: | USA | |
| Year: | 2008 | |
| Language: | English | |
| Runtime: | 90 minutes | |
| Rating: | R | |
| Trailer: | www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ9-rCyakME | |
| SCREENING TIMES | |||
| Friday, July 3, 2009 | 7:00 PM | Art Gallery of Windsor | Tickets: $10 Uncommon Market Gift Shop |
In Tyson, our first glimpse of the title character comes by way of his second-round knockout bout versus erstwhile champ Trevor Berbick to claim the heavyweight title in 1986. Mike Tyson's speed and strength are undeniable in these clips, but it's his fiercely animalistic focus that reads most clearly. Tyson, in his prime, dominated his opponents just as he did the entire sport of boxing in a way that no one had done before or since.
But what follows that opening footage is a deeply personal journey through the mind and spirit of the self-proclaimed Baddest Man on the Planet, probably the last guy you'd expect to see baring his soul to a complete stranger. That is why filmmaker James Toback's exploration of Tyson is so disarming; in watching this documentary, it's clear that the man has never trusted anyone other than his late trainer and mentor Cus D'Amato, so the fact that he spills to Toback is remarkable in and of itself.
Tyson, represented here by a series of interviews conducted by Toback, is the only person interviewed for the film-so it comes as no surprise that the story is rather lopsided. Somehow, though, given that he has been so legendarily derided and scorned in the popular media, the bias feels oddly fair, providing a rare chance to hear the star's side of the story as he chooses to tell it. And boy, does he tell it - Tyson rattles off his stories so quickly and compulsively it's as though he can't be bothered to breathe.
It is to Toback's credit that he has managed to get his star to open up and reflect on his own personal life with such depth. The director has said that he wanted to take a psychoanalytical approach to his subject, and the technique makes much of this film feel like something of a hidden camera therapy session. "Mike is lying downstream of consciousness," said Toback in a recent interview. "What I wanted to do was not say this was true and everything else you've heard is false, but rather, this is what Mike Tyson's version of his life is."
Granted, Tyson has never been known to mince words, and a scene in which he calls Desiree Washington a "wretched swine of a woman" is almost cringe-worthy. Likewise, his outburst at his first press conference after concluding his three-year bid in prison as a result of his rape conviction is truly painful to watch. But it's that kind of candidness and honesty that makes this film work, which is especially apparent when he pulls up memories of his introduction to sex after five years of self-imposed abstinence, his young marriage to Robin Givens, and the ensuing fallout that villainized him at the height of his career.
The fighter is similarly open when discussing his crime-addled childhood, the first time he beat someone up, and the humiliation and fear of getting bullied in a rough neighbourhood. He speaks of his own six children, and his aspirations as a father. In a rare moment of tenderness, he even brings himself to tears as he recounts the way in which D'Amato changed his life, encouraging him to stick to boxing instead of reentering the mean streets of Brooklyn. "He broke me down and rebuilt me," he says. D'Amato, for his part, makes an appearance in a piece of archival footage, wherein he admits that Tyson saved his life, too: "I have a reason [to live] with Mike here."
Fans of boxing will enjoy hearing Iron Mike talk about his influences-he cites lightweights Kid Chocolate and Henry Armstrong as personal favourites, saying that he wanted to be as exciting to watch as they were in their day. He also reveals some of the fascinating psychological elements to his game, one of which involves visualizing his fist busting out the back of his opponent's skull during a match.
But Tyson is more a character study than a sports film, and anyone with an interest in human nature would do well to spend some time with this curious, embattled soul. As a portrait of one of the biggest stars of the 20th century, the film leaves no stone unturned. Tyson is not to be missed.
