Gabbie Cook’s attempt to turn something rotten and corrosive from her childhood into something positive and creative, aided by director Barney White, finds form in this watchable short film at the subterranean Traverse 2 tonight. As part of the Manipulate festival, which has a deserved reputation for bringing the strange and downright absurd together, this abstract film follows the life of former gymnast turned circus artist Cook. High on imagery and low on dialogue it still manages to pack quite a punch, without perhaps finding the knock-out blow.
As we now look back and grimace at the ick-inducing objectification of Miss-World or the sexism of Benny Hill or indeed the unchecked racism of Rigsby, we will undoubtedly look back in years to come and grimace at the dehumanising and brutal and claustrophobic world of competition gymnastics. Just type ‘Inappropriate Gymnastic Commentary’ into google, and you will see what I mean, gymnasts described as, ‘pre-pubescent stick insects’, ‘a chunky girl’, or pundits describing ‘a very sexy performance’. You get the idea.
In one segment a series of numbers are read out, distorted and muffled, over and over, a quantification of one’s efforts on the day, a summing up of what you are worth. A 10 meaning that you are worth it, a 1 meaning that you are not.
Although never explicitly discussed this is a clear enough window into the brutality, and exploitative nature of elite training in the very young. The coercive and controlling nature and the lack of social and mental development that it leads to are jabbed at by Cook and White. Is this abuse? Is it a crime happening in plain sight perpetrated by pushy parents and expectant coaches up and down the country?
Ultimately it asks the question, who owns your young body and mind; your parents, your coach, you or the State, and how do you recover when you finally take control of your own destiny?
Reviewer: Greg Holstead
Reviewed: 13th February 2025
North West End UK Rating:
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Running time – 40 mins