“Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything” (2023)
Frank insight into a flawed sporting genius.
To say I was looking forward to seeing this documentary film would even for me, be the grandest of all understatements.
I’ve loved and admired the otherworldly sporting and snooker skills of Ronnie O’Sullivan since I first watched him at the annual World Snooker Championships at Sheffield in the early 1990’s and the nicknamed “Rocket” followed in the trailblazing footsteps of his now great friend (and major part of this documentary film) Jimmy “The Whirlwind” White and before him, Alex “Hurricane” Higgins. My love for snooker dates back to my earliest memories of being introduced to the game via my parents adoration of the sport, my “playing” of the game as a tiny child on the living room floor with golf balls replacing snooker balls and using the reverse end of a golf club for a snooker cue, to my parents gifting me the greatest Christmas present a sports mad child could ever wish for, a half-sized snooker table. It was far too big for our spare room but we made do, my Dad and I, for our regular Saturday night games that remain cherished memories, as does the Christmas morning memory of seeing that magnificent table for the first time and for that table being the envy of my school friends and a reason for so many get-togethers at my parent’s flat, so many loud afternoons filled with joy and laughter in that small spare bedroom dominated by that beautiful green baize topped table, and so many hours spent alone, honing my snooker skills.
But clearly not as many as a certain Ronald Antonio O’Sullivan!
Whereas my dear old Mum adored the skills of Steve Davis and then Stephen Hendry, I was always in the corner of the L'Enfant Terrible Alex Higgins or perennial World Snooker beaten finalist Jimmy White. But then along came Ronnie O’Sullivan. Then he started playing right AND left handed! Absurd and unheard of ridiculousness! Then he scored a maximum 147 break in 5 minutes and 8 seconds. 308 seconds to clear the entire table with 15 reds, 15 blacks and all the colours! More otherworldly ridiculousness. Then he won the first of his World Championships in 2001 and I was firmly and forever in his corner.
There are other reasons for my semi-religious watching of Ronnie O’Sullivan whenever he plays a televised event and whilst of course I’m keen to see the genius (a bona fide otherworldly sporting genius lest no-one ever forget) play, be competitive and win (which he did just weeks ago at the 2023 UK Championship to remain the number 1 player in the world), I also watch as Ronnie is, cliche alert, “Box Office” in every respect, never backward in coming forward with his views both on and off the snooker table, and has been incredibly frank with his life away from snooker, be it the imprisonment of his father for murder or his personal battles with alcohol and drugs or the demons of an often fragile mental health.
All of this and so much more is covered in a quite remarkable warts and all documentary that is part retrospective on a career rightly acclaimed as highlighting the greatest snooker player that has ever played the game as well as following Ronnie on the 2021/2022 snooker circuit culminating in his triumph and record equalling seventh all time winning of the pinnacle snooker event, the World Championship at Sheffield. Remarkably we go inside the dressing room before, during and after nearly every round of the tournament and even mere minutes before the final session with Judd Trump as the apprentice threatened the comeback of all comebacks against the master before an emotional O’Sullivan, caught on taped conversations with Trump in a long embrace after finally triumphing 18 frames to 13, bursting into tears at his achievement of equalling Stephen Hendry’s seven World Title successes and that he had to stop putting himself through this sporting anguish and turmoil. He naturally returned the following year to defend the title he cherishes the most and was defeated by eventual losing finalist Luca Brecel in the Quarter-Finals.
“The Rocket” is the number 1 player in the world at the time of writing with yet another ranking title in his waistcoat pocket as recently as 3 short December weeks ago and come April and the first day of May 2024, he’ll be gunning for an era defining 8th World Snooker Championship title.
And I’ll be watching the genius as avidly as I did all those years ago.
“Come on The Rocket!”
Anyway, treat yourself to 5 minutes and 8 seconds of sporting PERFECTION.
Ronnie O'Sullivan's 147 break in 5 minutes and 8 seconds
Thanks for reading. My archives here are overflowing with film reviews past and present and here are three examples of the seven volumes of “Essential Film Reviews Collection” you can find penned and published by me via Amazon:
"Essential Film Reviews Collection" - Vol.2
"Essential Film Reviews Collection" - Vol.4
"Essential Film Reviews Collection" - Vol.6
Merry Christmas.