Four Minutes

Back in the 1950's, two great challenges remained for mankind: to summit Mt. Everest, and to run a mile in under four minutes. From the title, you can probably tell, that this film chronicles the latter goal, and its eventual achievement. What is intriguing, in retrospect, was that "the four minute mile" was as much of a psychological challenge, as it was a physical one.

The unlikely hero is Roger Bannister, played by Jamie MacLachlan. Roger is a full time medical student with an interest in neurology. While his passion is the track, he barely has any time to devote to it. While others on the campus see, and encourage his special talent to run, he is content to simply put it on the backburner, and pursue his medical studies.

What follows is a moving tale of an unlikely hero, pursuing, and ultimately achieving one of mankind's great goals. Never mind that his record pace was surpassed a few weeks later, or that his career was short lived as he went on to pursue his career in medicine. This film shows a man going giving a goal 100% and fulfilling a dream. The story is supported by period costumes, and authentic locations on both sides of the Atlantic. I wholeheartedly recommend this for families as well.

Overall Grade: A-

You can see the official movie site here.