I'm a pool and snooker player and I grew up watching Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry. They were incredible to watch and clinical in the way they played the game and mastered the mental control needed to win at high level.
Then along came Ronnie O'Sullivan and, my god! He made the game into his own art form. If you've played the game and watched it you recognise an X factor to this guy which sets him apart.
He's an inspiration to me, how he plays with feeling and instinct and with pure natural talent. The flow of his game. But most of all, as is brilliantly portrayed in this documentary, his ability to overcome his demons on the big stage again and again is remarkable. The film shows that the most mercurial talents are the most captivating to watch. It also really gives you the sense of the intensity of performing in an often claustrophobic arena, the camera constantly on your face looking for any reaction.
The documentary is well-paced, and covers most of the ground contained in the books about Ronnie. There is however an elephant in the room - that Ronnie doesn't even mention his children. Surely that has to be a massively important part of any father's story. I'm sure it's because he wants to shield them from exposure, but I still find it an omission which makes the story incomplete.
That's the only reason I didn't give it a 10!
Then along came Ronnie O'Sullivan and, my god! He made the game into his own art form. If you've played the game and watched it you recognise an X factor to this guy which sets him apart.
He's an inspiration to me, how he plays with feeling and instinct and with pure natural talent. The flow of his game. But most of all, as is brilliantly portrayed in this documentary, his ability to overcome his demons on the big stage again and again is remarkable. The film shows that the most mercurial talents are the most captivating to watch. It also really gives you the sense of the intensity of performing in an often claustrophobic arena, the camera constantly on your face looking for any reaction.
The documentary is well-paced, and covers most of the ground contained in the books about Ronnie. There is however an elephant in the room - that Ronnie doesn't even mention his children. Surely that has to be a massively important part of any father's story. I'm sure it's because he wants to shield them from exposure, but I still find it an omission which makes the story incomplete.
That's the only reason I didn't give it a 10!