Matthew Turner | On 24, Nov 2023

Director: Sam Blair
Cast: Ronnie O’Sullivan, Ronnie Wood, Damien Hirst, Judd Trump, Stephen Hendry
Certificate: 15

Directed by Sam Blair, this engaging, personal documentary centres on snooker star Ronnie “The Rocket” O’Sullivan, the current world number one, who turned professional at the age of 16 in 1992 and recently became the oldest world champion in snooker history at the age of 46. The film charts his progress through 2021 and 2022, culminating in the 2022 World Championship, with O’Sullivan frequently reflecting on his life and career.

Blair includes a number of famous talking heads, such as Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood and artist Damien Hirst (both close personal friends of O’Sullivan) and snooker players and family members, but for the most part, the cameras follow O’Sullivan through a succession of hotel rooms and backstage areas at tournaments, where he speaks candidly about his various issues to an off-camera Blair.

The film uses a wealth of archive footage to fill in O’Sullivan’s background, including multiple home movies and new reports. This means there is plenty of footage to illustrate O’Sullivan’s relationship with one of the key figures in his life, his father, Ronnie O’Sullivan Snr, who made a fortune running sex shops in Soho and was arrested for murder around the same time that O’Sullivan made his professional debut, aged 16.

O’Sullivan clearly gave Blair an unprecented amount of access, because the cameras are even present during revealing sessions between Ronnie and his trusted psychiatrist, Dr Steve Peters, a frequent presence at his matches.

However, the film’s most extraordinary accomplishment is that Blair and the producers somehow persuaded the organisers of the World Snooker Championship to allow O’Sullivan to wear a microphone throughout the entire tournament. This pays enormous dividends – partly because the microphones pick up every word when O’Sullivan is muttering to himself during the matches, but also because at the end of the match, we’re privy to an extremely moving conversation between O’Sullivan and his opponent in the final, Judd Trump, as they share an extended hug and some tearful words.

O’Sullivan proves a fascinating subject, providing multiple insights into his character. For example, he frequently says he would rather play great snooker and lose than play bad snooker and win, something that explains why he has occasionally abandoned matches halfway through.

The talking heads are good value too, and a frequent source of amusing stories. One highlight has Hirst talking about a time when O’Sullivan was in the Masters and called him to ask him to take him to the Priory. When he arrived, Hirst suggested they just have a quick knockabout on a practice snooker table before they left, after which O’Sullivan said“I think I might play this afternoon.” He then went on to win the tournament.

On a similar note, the film is fascinating when it comes to depicting the difference between Ronnie’s public and private personas. For example, a key scene takes place in the middle of the World Championship – we hear a commentator remark on how incredibly calm and focused O’Sullivan is as he lines up his shots, only for Blair to cut back and forth between the game and O’Sullivan in the dressing room, practically having a panic attack and telling his psychiatrist, “I feel like I want to cry. I don’t even feel like I want to face it. I’m looking at my cue, I feel like my eyes are blurry.”

Needless to say, the documentary is a treat for snooker devotees and particularly for fans of O’Sullivan, but it’s also completely accessible for newcomers to the sport. An emotionally engaging, insightful and consistently rewarding watch – it might even make you want to seek out your nearest snooker table.

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