'Four Minutes' staggers to the tape

For a movie about speed, ''Four Minutes" takes its time. This ESPN production is a portrait of Roger Bannister, the first person to run a mile in under four minutes -- he ran it in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds in 1954. In that one world-record-breaking dash, Bannister expanded the limits of what human beings can do with their bodies, while he lifted the spirits of postwar England.

But ''Four Minutes," which premieres tonight at 7 on ESPN2, moves a little too slowly for its own good. It should be a happy and positive story about a man who excels in both his medical studies and his physical ambitions. Bannister became a devoted doctor, and he defied commonly held beliefs that the body would collapse if it beat a four-minute mile. And yet the movie has an inappropriately low-key, almost grim tone, as Bannister balances his professional ambitions with his rigorous training. If ''Four Minutes" were a male Lifetime movie about a man who overcame hardship to triumph on the track, some moodiness might be in order. But the young Bannister is clearly leading a rosy life. What's with all the frowning?

Bannister is played by Jamie Maclachlan as an inscrutable young gentleman. By the last minutes of ''Four Minutes," you get the sense he's an almost cheerful fellow, but until then he's just hard to read. All we really know is that he's the smartest student in his Oxford classes and he's socially awkward. The other students and runners appear to love him, and they root for him as he closes in on his running feat, but it's never clear exactly why.

Even his passion for running doesn't quite become manifest. Early on, Bannister says to his roommate, ''I'd like a go at the mile," as if he were talking about going out to a restaurant. And that's the gist of it. The drive that makes him world famous is all but hidden behind his affectless expression and his need to be a responsible student. We're probably supposed to spy all kinds of subtle feelings on Maclachlan's still face, but they're hard to spot.

Christopher Plummer plays former running great Archie Mason, who's in a wheelchair. Mason helps Bannister harness his raw running talent, predictably giving him tips and tough love. Amy Rutherford brings the most human warmth to the movie as Bannister's love interest, Moyra Jacobson. Her smile is unequivocal, and when she is roused to tears, the movie evokes much-needed hints of joy and inspiration.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com.