The Island Cinephile

Bobby Deerfield: Not Your Usual Sports Drama

Directed by Sydney Pollack and Alvin Sargent

“Who’s the guy with the salami?“

Bobby Deerfield

Bobby Deerfield is an unexpected romance loosely based around the premise of a sports story. A shallow, self-important, and competitive formula 1 racer pursues his dreams regardless of the familial baggage he carries around from his estranged brother or loveless relationship with his French girlfriend, Lydia. Deerfield participates in a race where heclaims victory, but tragedy strikes after a two-car collision. What makes it even more agonizing is the fact that the car that crashed is the exact model of the one that he races with. Disturbed by the idea of his own mortality being accelerated by a faulty car, Deerfield spirals as he attempts to understand the cause of this crash. He resigns to visiting the crash survivor, not out of the goodness of his heart but to subtly press him on what led to this tragedy. Whilst here, Bobby meets an enigmatic, abrasive, and intrusive patient named Lillian. Evidently a threat to his modus operandi, Deerfield is caught up in a whirlwind as he becomes the transportation for Lillian as she traverses her way to her uncle in Italy.  

Though a commercial flop it is liberated by the superb character work it produces. Not merely an asinine love story, both characters bring a sense of realism and appeal. Pacino produces a stoic disposition with underlying mania that seems unlike any of his more madcap roles we had experienced from him previously. He does a stellar job at crafting a character that possesses major depth, despite the obscurity his life is shrouded in. Lillian Morelli was portrayed by Marthe Keller and her work in this film has a lot to love. Spontaneous, random and eclectic – this character is superbly written as the audience is just as intrigued as Bobby to know more about her. She did a stellar job as a charismatic, larger than life woman that aided in Deerfield’s development. Their chemistry unfolds leisurely, and it could almost be sweet if not for the fact that Deerfield is cheating on Lydia. I guess the part where we find out that she was terminally ill should force us to have some sympathy for their complicated affair – but it does not. There were many negative responses from the film which could be attributed to the way it was marketed mostly as a sports film. One would be severely disappointed if you anticipated gratuitous race scenes or sports commentary; it functions as a love story solely with a small focus on the racing aspect. Despite this, it produces a progressive storyline with interesting dialogue which is enough to sustain its runtime. 

Bobby Deerfield is a better-than-average movie because of the superb character building, uncomplicated storyline, and succinct dialogue. The negative reception or polarizing ratings may just be due to the whiplash the audience would feel if they expected to watch a sports drama but instead found themselves caught in a love triangle. 

---