Sly
***
Rating: R
Run Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Writer: Aidan Sayar Sarie
Director: Thom Zimmy
Reviewed at the Toronto International Film Festival
Beware the biographical documentary that’s produced by the subject: This exhaustive retrospective of the life and career of Sylvester Stallone offers generous clips and candid conversation, but there’s always the sense that the star, while pretending to lift the curtain on his eventful life, is illuminating his story with a mighty narrow spotlight.
Appropriately, much attention is lavished on the creation of Rocky, the film that catapulted Stallone from abject obscurity to a Best Picture Oscar. It’s always a treat to hear Stallone discuss his films—gone is the Rocky mumble; the Rambo monosyllabity, the dead, droopy-eyed look. Talking about the inspirations behind his most famous creations and the challenges he faced bringing them to the screen, the man is positively animated and endlessly thoughtful. When he explains why he never allowed his characters to die on screen, saying he always wants to project a message of ultimate hope, you’re almost willing to believe the notion of sequels had nothing to do with it.
But it’s clear there are places Stallone is unwilling to go here. Much attention is lavished on his relationship with his son Sage, who played Rocky’s son in the series’ fifth installment. Sly is shown, in period interviews, patting Sage on the head and talking about how important it is to be a good dad. This is followed by a title card: A photo of father and son with a notation that Sage died in 2012. That’s it.
Now, I’m not going to pry, and it’s Stallone’s business if he wants to keep this awful chapter of his life to himself, but the net effect is an inauthentic one: that somehow the death of the star’s only son figures less in the arc of his life story than Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot!
Movies For the Rest of Us: Bill Newcott 