#MatthewHeineman

[doomonfilm]

Review : Tiger (2021)

I’ve been lucky enough to be born in an era where a handful of athletes have been blessed enough to be some of the best to ever partake in their craft.  From Michael Jordan to Mike Tyson, Wayne Gretzky to Bo Jackson, Joe Montana to Tom Brady, Barry Bonds to Mark McGwire, Serena Williams and so on, some of the most iconic and gifted human individuals have emerged onto the scene, but only a small handful can compare to the sheer dominance, history and potential legacy of Tiger Woods.  As amazing as his accomplishments have been, however, he is certainly not free from controversy, and the HBOMax documentary Tiger attempts to put both sides of this complex individual into an understandable context.

Part one speaks on the rich friendship and unconditional love between Earl, Kultida and Tiger Woods.  Before he was a year old, Tiger Woods had already studied his father’s golf swing intensely enough to mimic it, and with the guiding hand of his father, Tiger Woods went on to blaze trails once considered unthinkable in the world of golf.  As a young Black man in a predominately White sport, Tiger burst onto the amateur scene with three straight wins over three years before turning pro in 1996.  With a multimillion dollar advertising deal with Nike in place, Tiger went on to decimate his competition for years, including winning all four major tournaments in a single year.  With his name firmly placed amongst the legends, Tiger stepped into adulthood poised to be the undisputed darling of the sports world, but as with all great rises, a fall seemed inevitable.  The death of his father made a massive impact on Tiger’s life, and moving forward, things would never be the same.

Part two focuses on the intense scrutiny surrounding Tiger Woods and his extremely private life he kept from the public eye.  As an iconic athlete, pitchman with massive crossover appeal and barrier breaking icon, it was important to him that public perception was positive.  On the surface, his career and marriage to Elin Nordegren seemed like a picture perfect image of the American dream, but as many stories of fame have taught us, even the brightest stars often have dark secrets.  Outside of his loving marriage with his wife and newborn child, the tabloid papers uncovered Tiger’s infidelity streak, Tiger sought personal validation with his newly formed group of military comrades, and the sport that once drove his entire world suddenly began to take a backseat.  With his personal life choices taking a physical toll on his body, his golf game begins to suffer, but with 19 major tournament wins in sight (one more than the legendary Jack Nicklaus), his drive is more fierce than ever.  It seemed as if Tiger Woods’ life had reached a momentum that could not be stopped, but the introduction of Rachel Uchitel sent it down a path that eventually ended in self-destruction.

For a documentary that does not contain any direct interviews with the subject, Tiger is surprisingly insightful, honest and fair in the way it approaches Woods.  His accomplishments are given proper praise and examination, both in terms of the skill it took to achieve them and the context of him as a Black man making the achievements, which makes his incredibly unique story that much more of a Herculean undertaking.  I’m just a hair under five years younger than Tiger Woods, so I remember much of his journey in real time, but the access provided to his life pre-fame is intriguing and telling... his relationship with his father is the dominant element present, but some of the home video footage provided from longtime friend and former confidant Dina Gravell gives us a glimpse at the young kid that existed behind the dominant golf machine we were presented as a viewing public.  It also could have been very easy to go knives out when the story shifts to Tiger’s shortcomings and infidelity, but surprisingly, these topics are handled with as much delicacy as there is honesty, which gives us an equal parts unflinching and unconditional look at an individual with so much weight piled on their shoulders at such a young age that the impact of his compartmentalization as a coping mechanism would not be understandable until decades later.

It is this compartmentalization that stands out as the most intriguing learned aspect from the documentary.  We are told by individuals from all walks of Tiger’s life about his uncanny ability to channel his focus in an almost zen-like manner, so it makes sense that his infidelity, obligations as a public figure and duties as a husband could be compartmentalized in a similar manner.  Those who attacked his character often treated Tiger as if he should be of flawless character and without error, but just like most every other iconic individual robbed of a childhood, the character cracks seem much more drastic than those of the average individual.  On the one hand, it is hard to fathom how one man can portray himself as a top athlete with endless ambition, a loving family man, and a role model for a vast majority of the populous, but once one considers how an individual’s life experiences help guide us through future pitfalls, and we consider the fact that Tiger’s life was overwhelmingly centered around golf well before he was able to form a character, then his downfall is much less surprising and much easier to understand.

Unlike the Michael Jackson documentary, which seemed squarely aimed at destroying that monumental legacy created by the icon of icons, Tiger plays like a confession in hopes of character redemption.  It doesn’t take more than a cursory look to understand that even the people giving damning accounts of Tiger’s actions (or the actions that shaped him during his youth) are extremely protective of him, and despite how they may feel about him as an individual, their love for him shines through.  If anything, the Tiger Woods story can serve as a reminder that no matter how incredible an individual may seem, we must understand that nobody is perfect, and we must be willing to allow those who fall down to pick themselves up without us damning them to a life of shame.

HBO has always been strong in terms of documentary production, and Tiger continues this trend of compelling character studies and stories too unbelievable to be forgotten.  Hopefully, when all is said and done, Tiger’s accomplishments can be taken on their own merit, and his life can be accepted as having the same ups and downs all of us experience.

[jamiedornan360-blog]

#APrivateWar had a premiere during #HIFF2018 with #JamieDornan #RosamundPike & #MatthewHeineman in attendance. . . 📸: @everythingjdcom https://www.instagram.com/p/BoporzhAApV/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1r9wc3m6848fh

[fiftyshadesor]

@mehmetbinay "@aprivatewar Q&A with director #matthewheineman and actor #JamieDornan" https://www.instagram.com/p/BpzVKh3nF_p/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ew5dmt7g9bf0

[thatsmovietalk]

A Private War (2018) Directed and Produced by #MatthewHeineman Based on #MarieColvinsPrivateWar by #MarieBrenner Starring #RosamundPike #JamieDornan #TomHollander #StanleyTucci #APrivateWar #Hollywood #hollywood #picture #film #movie #cinema #films #theater #movies #movieposter #movieworld #movielovers #movienews #screen https://www.instagram.com/p/CWmLX_HPU0U/?utm_medium=tumblr

[yanarchy072]

・ ・ プライベート・ウォー観た。 ・ 日本人で言えば「地雷を踏んだらサヨウナラ」の一ノ瀬泰造氏やミャンマーで射殺され「ランボー 最後の聖戦」のオープニングでも映像が使われた長井健司氏の様なお話。 ・ 「とりあえず、観ろ！」な作品。 全てがいい！ 信念と人間のお話。 前戦の人間の信念無くなれば、抑えの希望が無くなるくらいの人になりたい。 ・ #プライベートウォー #aprivatewar #マシューハイネマン #matthewheineman ・ #メリーコルヴィン #mariecolvin #ロザムンドパイク #rosamundpike ・ #マリーブラナー #mariebrenner #メリーコルヴィンの個人的な戦い #mariecolvinsprivatewar ・ #映画 #movie #cinema #ビバムビ #instagood #instamovie #instapic #moviestagram (TOHOシネマズシャンテ) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2eYjhXAANf/?igshid=iydshihwzeip

[jamiedornaniloveyou]

Tra le sue più belle apparizioni pubbliche... bellissimo da lasciare senza fiato, fighissimo, in formissima, impeccabile nel suo completo elegante, dolcissimo accanto alla sua Millie, così esuberante insieme ai suoi colleghi del cast ... era la Première di @aprivatewar a Londra, lo scorso ottobre... per me, PRATICAMENTE PERFETTO! 💙💙💙 Buongiorno e buon venerdì mie care 😘😘😘 #jamiedornaniloveyou #jamiedornan #AmeliaWarner #rosamundpike #MatthewHeineman #paulconroy credit to the owner https://www.instagram.com/p/BsfA-I8nhYb/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=abhpjz6yd4fu

[authornylak]

Pictures from the screening today. I saved the videos at the end from my story of Matthew and Jamie talking about Syria.. It's incredible how different things are in abstract versus when you're actually out there. Being in Syria was one of the most grounding experiences I've ever had, and watching what happens there from someone else's point of view is pretty surreal. Thank you, Matthew Heineman for capturing Marie's. I think she would have been proud🙌🏼 #APrivateWar #MarieColvin #Syria #HIFF #RosamundPike #JamieDornan #MatthewHeineman (at Guild Hall of East Hampton) https://www.instagram.com/p/Boph4nAhYjA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1u9nk0cz8khlp

[thequickburn]

From the director of Cartel Land. 

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzghC6qlYrs)

[thefrancais]

"City of Ghosts" is among the most eagerly anticipated documentaries at #sundance2017 In Matthew Heineman's follow up to the Oscar-nominated Cartel Land, he heads to the Syrian city Raqqa to find out how a courageous group of people responded to the #isis takeover of their town. The film is part of the U.S. Documentary competition #matthewheineman #cartelland #syria #raqqa #war #wardocumentaries #film #films #filmmaking #filmmakers #movie #movies #documentary #documentaries #sundance Photo courtesy Sundance Institute. For more doc news visit Nonfictionfilm.com

[outhouseofhorror]

My second #documentary of the day 🎬 #TheFirstWave 2021 🎞️ from #director 📣 #MatthewHeineman 📣 at #LandmarkCinemas #BethesdaRowCinema 🤓🎟️🍿🥤💺🎬🎞️ #OoH #ilovemovies #ilovedocumentaries #TGIF #fridaymotivation #moviewatcher — view on Instagram https://ift.tt/3CxdJV9

[blondie39]

I am watching City of Ghosts #TelfieApp #CityOfGhosts from #MagnoliaPictures, 1619 total!!! 👍🏼😎📺🎬 📸 📹💿🎥📽 🎞 🇮🇶️👳‍♂️👳‍♀️💣💥💔🐪🐫🐐🐏🐑🌵🌴🌍🏜️🕌🕋🌄🚑🚲⛽🔥💸🔦🗳️⚔️🗡️🔫🏹⚰️🛢️🚷☢️☣️☪️🆘️ @CityOfGhosts #MagnetReleasing @MagnetReleasing @MagnoliaPics @MagnoliaSelects #MatthewHeineman @MattHeineman @Raqqa_SL #RaqqaIsBeingSlaughteredSilently

[tramp963]

#CityofGhosts,2017 #FilmTrailersWorld http://buff.ly/2rRRuFK #MatthewHeineman #movie

[jamiedornan360-blog]

Video of #APrivateWar Q&A during #HIFF2018 featuring #JamieDornan #RosamundPike #MatthewHeineman . . Repost video via @authornylak IG https://www.instagram.com/p/BopmMShgyjz/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wxw6npz0i6lh

[fiftyshadesor]

#RosamundPike #JamieDornan #matthewheineman at #APrivateWar premiere yesterday in Hamptons. @hamptonsheather "A Private War is amazing @hamptonsfilm" https://www.instagram.com/p/BorO4T6gl8U/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=uojdvzmg26i0

[yanarchy072]

・ 「ラッキー」の予告で初めて観た。 シリアの感覚は正直住んだ事のある日本人以外には皆無だと思う。もちろん自分も。 スマホで戦うという事よりも西だの東だの言ってた時代の名残と武器は明らかに的な「どっちが正しいのか？」という答えがあって観たいが絶対に日本人には理解無理だよね。 だけど観るよ！絶対！ ・ 「プールサイドマン」もみんな観よう。 ・ #ラッカは静かに虐殺されている #cityofghosts #マシューハイネマン #matthewheineman ・ #映画 #movie #film #ビバムビ

[jamiedornaniloveyou]

Segni particolari: PRATICAMENTE PERFETTO! 😍🔥💙 Bellissimo, sexy e simpatico oltre ogni misura... 💫💫💫 mi fa girare la testa!!! 🌞 Buongiorno mie care e buon venerdì! 🌞 20 ottobre 2018, première londinese di @aprivatewar #jamiedornaniloveyou #jamiedornan #rosamundpike #paulconroy #MatthewHeineman #ameliawarner credit to the owner https://www.instagram.com/p/Bro7TDknu61/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1vb9krl36vwz1