The Flying Scotsman is a 2006 British drama film, based on the life and career of Scottish amateur cyclist Graeme Obree.

The film covers the period of Obree's life that saw him take, lose, and then retake the world one-hour distance record.

The film starts with Graeme Obree (Miller), who suffers from a depressive moment (which we learn is due to a crippling bipolar disorder), cycling into a wood where he attempts to hang himself.

A flashback to Obree's (Sean Brown) childhood depicts him being physically attacked at school by other pupils, leaving the young Graeme with severe psychological scars.

Determined to succeed, he asks Malky to take over his management and fundraising from his wife Anne who is overwhelmed with work and raising their child.

Graeme manages to build a revolutionary prototype called Old Faithful, for maximum efficiency, made up of scrap metal and components from a washing machine.

When Obree is confronted in a pub by the four bullies who had victimised him years earlier at school, he becomes completely withdrawn and rarely leaves his house.

The UCI officials begin rigorously enforcing the new ruling, penalising him for riding in the "Tuck" stance that his bicycle design is intended to support.

[3] Along with Rob Roy producer, Peter Broughan, and Scottish director, Douglas Mackinnon, he based the film's script on Obree's autobiography, also entitled The Flying Scotsman.

[3] East Ayrshire Council, who originally gave £5000 to fund the project, refused to give further finance, stating that it didn't feel it would contribute to the community.

[3] The film was shot largely in Galston, Scotland, with East Ayrshire, Glasgow and velodromes in Germany standing in for places in the story such as Colombia, France and Norway.

The site's consensus reads: "The Flying Scotsman's too-brisk pacing reduces the scale of cyclist Graham Obree's accomplishments while not uncovering what makes him tick.

"[2] The film gained mixed reviews worldwide following its release, with most of the praise being aimed at Jonny Lee Miller's performance in the title role.

Obree is an "opaque and unsympathetic figure" in the film, said reviewer Peter Bradshaw, also calling the record-breaking attempts "weirdly anticlimactic and blank".