Synopsis
JOHN CURRY THE ICE KING is the searing biopic of a forgotten cultural icon, a staggering story of art, sport, sexuality, and rebellion.
The greatest skater of all time, John Curry transforms a dated sport into an art form. Coming out on the night of his Olympic win in 1976, he becomes the first openly gay Olympian in a time when homosexuality is not even fully legal. Toxic yet charming; rebellious yet elitist; emotionally aloof yet spectacularly needy; ferociously ambitious yet bent on self-destruction, this is a man forever on the run: from his father’s ghost, his country, and even his own self.
This devastating feature film finds Curry approaching the end of his short life, trying to resurrect his career from self-inflicted ruin. We discover in flashback his violent childhood, the struggle for recognition, the soaring heights of artistic freedom, the collapse that followed, and Curry’s search for release in the wild excesses of the 1970s NYC gay scene, as – in the present – he comes to terms with being a victim of their terrifying hangover. In the midst of this desolation ravaging the gay community, Curry crafts his final, beautiful dances with two of his former skaters. Dallas Buyers Club meets Milk, meets Black Swan, based on Bill Jones's acclaimed biography (Alone: The Triumph and Tragedy of John Curry), and crafted from his own letters and hours of unheard interviews with his lovers, family, and friends, this will be the definitive portrait of an unjustly forgotten genius.
“…a brilliant, honest and detailed account of a tortured sporting genius.” – The Daily Mail, on ‘Alone: The Triumph and Tragedy of John Curry’