Personal Best

Personal Best (1982) is a celebration of Olympian physicality and the competitive spirit. Writer-director, Robert Towne thoroughly presents both the nuts and bolts of track and the complexity of the characters – the same skill for human and technical details that won his Chinatown screenplay an Oscar. That the film is tender and progressive in its depiction of a lesbian relationship is evidence of Towne’s humanism as well as his commitment to telling a very specific story; lesbian sexuality is as important to the film as the look in Mariel Hemingway’s eyes while bench-pressing. Personal Best may feel episodic and lack a satisfying narrative arc, but there isn’t an expendable shot or moment in the entire film. It’s impossible to reach the end of the movie without having learned more about both the film’s characters and the sport of track.