‘Prefontaine’ Built On Myths And Partial Truths

Wow, does “Prefontaine” have a lot of story to tell.

I may be leaving something out, but it has to do with: the life and loves of legendary distance runner Steve Prefontaine, who competed at the 1972 Olympics; the tragedy that marred those Olympics; the development of the modern athletic shoe; the shift from amateur Olympians to highly paid professionals and the hegemony of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (the NCAA goes by a different name in “Prefontaine,” but they’re not fooling anyone).

Director/co-writer Steve James and cinematographer/co-producer Peter Gilbert were the brains behind “Hoop Dreams” and, although “Prefontaine” uses actors and contains a few fictional embellishments, their instincts have not deserted them.

The movie is shot as if it were a documentary about Prefontaine’s life, a technique that works spectacularly in the movie’s best scenes, which take place during the ill-fated 1972 Munich Olympics. The hostage drama - its impact on the Olympics and on the athletes - plays out like the best documentaries do. It’s convincing and involving because we feel like we’re seeing it the way it really happened.

And Prefontaine’s race for the gold, which seamlessly combines historical footage and new material, is a grabber. But documentary techniques don’t work as well in the rest of “Prefontaine.” We’re often conscious that the people being interviewed about Prefontaine are actors, not the real people they’re pretending to be.

And many of the hand-held, supposedly documentary scenes are clearly footage of events that no camera crew would have been present for, like Prefontaine and a girlfriend snuggling in bed. Plus, there’s so much material here that Prefontaine’s story sometimes gets buried.

The made-up scenes that are most effective acknowledge the contradictions that fueled Prefontaine and that made him a prickly hero.

The man known as Pre was cocky, angry and self-involved, but we see that maybe selfishness is an essential ingredient for athletes in solo sports.

On the flipside, a “Steve always had time for children” moment feels tacked on and fake, like a cheap attempt to make Pre more conventionally “likable.”

Coincidentally, there is another movie about Prefontaine scheduled for later this year. It’s called “Pre,” and if you’re choosing between the two of them, my guess is that “Prefontaine” is the viewer-friendly, uplifting version, while “Pre” will acknowledge the “unlikable” aspects of Steve Prefontaine were what made him interesting.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: “PREFONTAINE” Locations: Newport, Showboat Cinemas Credits: Directed by Steve James, starring Jared Leto Running time: 1:47 Rating: PG-13

This sidebar appeared with the story: OTHER VIEWS Here’s what other critics say about “Prefontaine:” Michael H. Price/Fort Worth StarTelegram: “Prefontaine” may have wowed the opening-nighters at the Sundance Film Festival, but when you take it out of movie-nut territory and plunk it down at the shopping-mall multiplex, it’s just another “inspiring” and “uplifting” pseudo-documentary about a gifted grandstander who cashed in too early. Henry Sheehan/The Orange County Register: After scoring high with the documentary “Hoop Dreams,” writer-director Steve James and producer-cinematographer Peter Gilbert apply a pseudo-documentary style to “Prefontaine,” a film biography of track star Steve Prefontaine. While this approach has met with success in other hands, here it’s a complete failure.