Film Reviews

TT3D: Closer to the Edge

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• Details: UK / 104mins (15A).

I admit I wasn't looking forward to this. I'm not a biker and have no interest in Super Bikes or anything relating to the sort. But what an experience this turned out to be. Exciting, nail-biting, funny and heart-breaking stuff, TT3D is in the running for the best documentary of the year. Shame then that the 3D is wasted.
TT3D is a documentary on the six week run up to the TT (Tourist Trophy), a weeklong Super Bike race that takes place in the Isle of Man. The race, with speeds up to two hundred mph, is a lethal one with two-hundred-and-thirty-one deaths since its inception in 1907 (an average of five deaths per mile). Debut director Richard De Aragues takes his camera on the road to suss out who would be the most likeable subject and finds the cheeky underdog Guy Martin. Martin's mechanic is a bit of a wildcard: He has dedicated his whole life to the sport and to the detriment of a personal life: "I'm not interested in girls... I'm not gay or owt." Meticulous and ambitious, Martin has no qualms about putting a few official noses out of joint to win.
Kicking things off with a POV shot through the opening stage of the course, TT3D set itself up to be disappointing as the camera was too low down with the shot being only of tarmac whizzing by. However, De Aragues finds his form quickly with Martin's open, honest and very funny interviews (his techniques for winding down are waaaay too honest). What is surprising is Martin's, and the other bikers', flippant attitude to their very possible death on the road: "it's part of the game," is the usual comeback. The interviews are an excellent insight into the drive to win, the sheer determination in the face of serious tragedy and the toll the sport takes on the body.
De Aragues could have focussed his camera on a number of participants – particularly the sole female biker Jenny Tinmouth – but Martin's pleasant Jack The Lad demeanour will easily win you over. Martin gets under the fingernails as to why anyone would involve themselves with something this dangerous: it's a drug, an addiction, he says – every time you do it you just want more.
Just like the 3D, the narration by Jared Leto a tad unnecessary, but TT3D is still a must see and not just for bikers.

Review by Gavin Burke