Tyson (***1/2)

I admit I only saw this because I was invited to. But James Toback’s documentary was an unexpectedly revelatory portrait of the boxer who, after taking the heavyweight world by storm, increasingly came to seem like a human cartoon. Toback, known for features like The Pick-Up Artist and Black and White, built the film around five lengthy interviews with Mike Tyson. Aside from extensive footage of Tyson’s bouts and some news footage, chronologically ordered segments of these interviews form the entire film. But while the movie is in no sense objective—and Toback is Tyson’s longtime friend—it doesn’t seem like hagiography either.

While the champ, who became the youngest heavyweight champion (aged 20) in 1986, isn’t exactly articulate—his recounting of the time he performed “fellatio” on a woman in a toilet elicited snickers—he is able to speak with a perspective on his past that he lacked at the time. He chalks up his celebrated, brief marriage to Robin Givens to mutual immaturity. He dismisses Desiree Washington, of whom he was convicted of raping in 1992, as lying “swine,” while admitting to other bad sexual behavior, such as the “extracurricular” activity during hs marriages. The infamous ear-biting incident involving Evander Holyfield is also addressed. Yet the less sensational moments, such as the worshipful way he speaks of his first manager, Cus D’Amato, are most revealing. Whatever you think of Tyson, this unexpectedly fascinating film turns the cartoon into a human being.

IMDB link

viewed 3/29/09 at Ritz East (Philadelphia Film Festival) and reviewed 3/31/09