WITHOUT LIMITS
Before I saw "Without Limits", I knew as much about Prefontaine as I did about Lunt Fontanne, which is next to nothing. Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne - husband and wife - were a legendary acting duo, famed for their amazing performances on the New York stage. I probably wouldn’ t even know that if it wasn’t for the Broadway theater that bears their name.
Well, apparently Steve Prefontaine is a legendary figure too, but in the sports world. He was a three mile runner. "Without Limits" is writer/director Robert Towne’s cinematic edifice to his memory. More importantly it is a full blooded portrait of a complex athlete unwilling to do less than his best; and who was not above using his celebrity to meet girls and reap the perks! "Without Limits" is not so much about what Steve Prefontaine accomplished in his life as it is about how he lived it.
There are so many seemingly disparate elements that deepen the texture of "Without Limits" that it’s impossible to dismiss it as just another sports movie. There are carefully orchestrated vignettes that touch on the immigrant experience, rejoice in the work ethic, and revere the quest for perfection. "Without Limits" also deals with overcoming one’s prejudices and accepting people for who they are. This theme is played out on the track in a clash of wills between Pre and his coach, Bill Bowerman, It is also dramatized in the underlying love story between Pre and a staunch Catholic girl that finds resonance in Bill’s relationship with his wife.
Ultimately, "Without Limits" is about two men bound by a common sensibility. The thing that sets them apart is their approach. Pre is a ‘Front Runner’ and always wants to be at the head of the pack. Bill Bowerman wants his runners to win through a methodical regimen that helps increase lung capacity and physical endurance with speed as its reward. He figures out the mathematical probability of winning and uses science to increase the odds. Pre runs for the sheer exhilaration of feeling alive. His motto could have been, "I run. Therefore, I am!"
"Without Limits" is a directorial tour-de-force full of stylized touches and inspirational scenes that are drawn from an artistic wellspring of film history. The impressionistic use of slow motion makes you feel the heart and soul of athletes in competition. Triumphant music heralds the achievements that lead Pre to the doomed atmosphere of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich . The movie actually starts after the execution of Israeli athletes by terrorists before flashing back and chronicling the major events in his life. One of the keys to his personality is an admission that he has taught himself to withstand pain. It is the one thing that makes him a fierce competitor. It harks back to a crucial moment in "Lawrence of Arabia", a film much admired by Robert Towne, when Lawrence extinguishes a match with his fingertips. Both scenes are preludes to the challenges that lie ahead in each movie.
In another scene that is akin to Bing Crosby breaking into song with a new tune in the presence of its creator, Pre pays a visit to Bill Bowerman just in time to find him putting on the finishing touches of a custom made pair of sneakers designed just for him. Pre puts them on and wordlessly runs off into the woods setting his own tempo to the natural rhythm of his body. If the song was made for singing, then the sneakers were made for,… well,… running.
Billy Crudup is amazing as Steve Prefontaine, the arrogant Young Turk who puts a crimp in Bowerman’s style. While he expresses awe at Bill’s reputation, Ole Bill is equally in awe of Pre’s talent, maybe more so. Crudup uses his body the way a painter uses his brush. Each movement, from the sway of the hips to the arched swivel of his jaw, is a stroke that expresses a whole spectrum of emotions from bewilderment to pure joy. Donald Sutherland’s naturalistic performance makes Bowerman the shock absorber that insulates his runners from the political turmoil that eventually becomes inescapable. He is at once paternal, firm, and authoritarian.
There are other great moments in "Without Limits" that must be experienced by the viewer to be appreciated. Whether these moments are true or not, like the role of a waffle iron in the future of the sneaker industry, is not as important as the way they are used - to add whimsy and humor. I imagine that Towne’s co-writer Kenny Moore, a running mate of Pre’s and a writer for Sports Illustrated, helped keep the facts straight, "Without Limits" makes it look like Pre never lost an amateur race. True or not, it serves the plot well once the outcome of the 1972 Olympics and the post script to Pre’s life is revealed. The sense of loss was overwhelming. Anyone familiar with the facts of his life may not be as deeply affected as I was, since I knew nothing about him.
Robert Towne has created is an ode to a champion who gave as much as he took. Finally, I can’t help thinking about the classic line from the John Ford western, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." Whether fact or legend, "Without Limits" is a great movie!
Suggested Video Pix
The Classic - No list of Towne’s credits is complete without it!
"Chinatown" (1974) - Dir. Roman Polanski/Scr. Robert Towne
"Personal Best" (1982) - Scr./Dir. Robert Towne. At one time, a controversial look at
female athletes.
Another true story about Olympic runners:
"Chariots of Fire" (1981) - Scr.Colin Weland/Dir. Hugh Hudson
A story of two champions. One decides to render to God the things that are God’s in
the 1924 Olympics.
An oddball choice just for the title:
"The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" (1962) - Scr.Alan Sillitoe/Dir. Tony
Richardson - A rebellious youth has the gift, but… Tom Courtney is phenomenal!