Being AP is a interesting insight to the life of twenty time Champion Jockey AP McCoy. The narrative is mostly driven by McCoy himself, his wife Chanelle and his agent Dave Roberts. Shot over his final season, the film looks at whether he was driven by a desire to be successful, or a fear of failure.
Going into this I had two fears. My first fear was that the film would only appeal to horse racing fans. I think there is enough in this to appeal to a broad audience. My second fear was that it would not be cinematic. The film certainly feels cinematic. It is visually interesting. Slow motion cameras, helmet cameras and overhead shots are used to show the races. This gives them more detail than the standard television coverage. Overall it is an enjoyable cinema experience. Well worth checking out.
Being AP
2015
Action / Documentary / Sport
Being AP
2015
Action / Documentary / Sport
100% - Critics
69% - Audience
6.5Plot summary
'Being AP' premiered at Toronto Film Festival 2015, and documents one of Northern Ireland's greatest ever sportsmen during his last racing season. The story of AP's final season is a fascinating mix of sacrifice, doubt, decisions, triumphs and failures, injury and ultimately, finding a way to leave the stage. With unprecedented access to a top athlete, the film tracks all the elements that make up McCoy's life. We see him in action at racecourses across the UK and Ireland. We are with him at the Cheltenham Festival and Aintree. We see him struggling with injury at home, setting himself new targets and grappling with the decision whether to retire or not. We track the successful early part of the season, when AP harbours the outrageous idea of riding 300 winners in a season. We see the shattering effect of injury on body and psyche. We witness the torment of deciding whether this is to be his last season, and we are there as he goes through the public agony of playing out his retirement in public. And then it's no more. Our cast is the team around him; the billionaire owner, JP McManus, the trainers, the fellow jockeys that make up that unique band of brothers, and above all, his wife Chanelle, who has lived through everything at his side. This is far from just being a story about racing, although there will certainly never be another AP McCoy. It is about universal themes, recognisable to the widest audience; relationships, decisions, sacrifices.
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Good film about a horse racing legend.
In the mould of Senna
Just as with Senna (which I watched with my nineteen-year-old daughter who is left stone cold by cars, let alone Formula 1 - and she was hooked from the get-go) I was gripped from start to finish. You seriously don't need to know the first thing about National Hunt racing or even horses because this film is about what it takes to make a true great - the only difference between A P and Senna is that A P was lucky enough to have faced the decision about when to step down (which is beautifully narrated in the film). Highly recommended.
Superb for horse racing fans
Just watched this film on BBC 2 and from the perspective of a massive horse racing fan it was a superb insight into the UK's best ever jump jockeys career and final season. The camera-work is top quality,y showing many of the major races that happen in the calendar year. The film captures the stress and strain that being a jockey is all about. I think that this film largely appeals to horse racing fans. A non sports fan is unlikely to love watching this but highly recommended for any horse enthusiast. 8/10 from me