TYSON (James Toback, U.S.). 90 minutes. Tuesday (May 5), 9:15 pm, Isabel Bader. Rating: NNNN
James Toback’s remarkable, inflexible documentary is essentially a feature-?length monologue by Mike Tyson, who tells the story of his life directly to the camera.
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Toback’s long friendship with Tyson gives the movie an intimate, unmanaged tone. The director is never seen or heard, but he’s clearly being supportive and encouraging of his subject. He illustrates Tyson’s stories with a remarkable range of archival footage, dating all the way back to Tyson’s earliest sparring sessions with trainer Cus D’Amato, and doesn’t shy away from clips where Tyson comes off looking like a raging psychotic.
It’s a fascinating piece of work – and if you view it from just the right angle, you can almost see the deterioration of Iron Mike’s soul over the course of his unique career.
