Jonny Lee Miller might as well change his nationality and be done with it, because three of his best performances — Trainspotting, Regeneration, this — have a Scottish connection. Here he plays cyclist Graeme Obree, who startled the sport in 1993 by breaking the world one-hour record on a bike made out of washing-machine parts.
The film mostly sticks to a standard underdog-against-the-odds formula, complete with contrasting best mates, long-suffering wife and a hissable villain from cycling’s governing body. Miller carries the film into darker, more interesting terrain, however, showing how Obree’s outsider status was the result of mental health problems.