The Racer (film)

The Racer
The Racer
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kieron J. Walsh
Written by	Ciaran Cassidy; Kieron J. Walsh;
Produced by	Yvonne Donohoe; Katie Holly;
Starring	Louis Talpe; Matteo Simoni; Tara Lee; Iain Glen; Karel Roden;
Cinematography	James Mather
Edited by	Mathieu Depuydt; Nico Poedts;
Music by	Hannes De Maeyer
Production; companies	Blinder Films; Calach Films; Caviar Films;
Distributed by	Gravitas Ventures
Release dates	13 March 2020 (SXSW); 9 September 2020 (Belgium); 11 December 2020 (Ireland);
Running time	95 minutes
Countries	Ireland; Luxembourg; Belgium;
Languages	English; French; Italian; Dutch; Spanish; Portuguese; Irish;

The Racer is a 2020 Irish-Luxembourgian-Belgian sports drama film. The film stars Louis Talpe, Matteo Simoni, Tara Lee, Iain Glen and Karel Roden.

Cast

Louis Talpe as Dominique "Dom" Chabol
Matteo Simoni as Lupo "Tartare" Marino
Tara Lee as Dr. Lynn Brennan
Iain Glen as Sonny McElhone
Karel Roden as Viking
Timo Wagner as Stefano Drago
Diogo Cid as Enzo
Ward Kerremans as Lionel Dardonne
Paul Robert as Erik Schultz

Production

In 2018, a film centering around the 1998 Tour de France, titled The Domestique and to be directed by Kieron J. Walsh and written by Ciarán Cassidy, was announced. Production was taken over by Blinder Films, with the movie receiving €800,000 funding through Screen Ireland, the Irish state development agency.^[1] The film has since been renamed The Racer and secured funding from Screen Flanders, the Film Fund Luxembourg, Eurimages, the BAI Sound & Vision Fund, and RTÉ.^[2]

Release

It was scheduled to premiere at the 2020 South by Southwest, but was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, it was showcased in June 2020, at the Cannes online Marché du Film.^[3]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 26 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Racer isn't always in top gear, but strong acting and sleek cinematography get this look behind the scenes of the professional bicycling world past the finish line."^[4] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on five critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[5]

References

^ Shortall, Eithne (22 July 2018). "Tour de Dopage film The Domestique passes test for Screen Ireland funding". The Times. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
^ Clarke, Stewart (29 July 2019). "First Look at 1998 Tour de France Film 'The Racer'". Variety. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
^ Dalton, Ben (17 June 2020). "Irish cycling drama 'The Racer' signs North American deal, releases first trailer". ScreenDaily.
^ "The Racer". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
^ "The Racer Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 1 December 2022.

External links

The Racer at IMDb

[1] Shortall, Eithne (22 July 2018). "Tour de Dopage film The Domestique passes test for Screen Ireland funding". The Times. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2019.

[2] Clarke, Stewart (29 July 2019). "First Look at 1998 Tour de France Film 'The Racer'". Variety. Retrieved 4 November 2019.

[3] Dalton, Ben (17 June 2020). "Irish cycling drama 'The Racer' signs North American deal, releases first trailer". ScreenDaily.

[4] "The Racer". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 1 December 2022.

[5] "The Racer Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 1 December 2022.

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