Directed by:
Paul MercierScreenplay:
Paul MercierCast:
Brendan Gleeson, Alan King, Eanna MacLiam, Domhnall Gleeson, David Wilmot, Eamonn Owens, Eoin Macken, Emmett J. Scanlan, Feidlim Cannon, David Herlihy (more)Plots(1)
It's another bleak mid-winter Sunday and Bubbles (Wilmot) is still the captain of amateur football team Emmet Rovers who are getting hammered again! This bunch of losers are playing the same dire football with no heart, no conviction and now, not even a manager. Bubbles, who once played in the big league, is threatening to quit altogether when a mysterious stranger, Walter Keegan (Gleeson), appears looking to fill the vacant job of team manager. At first, there's disbelief, the lads think Keegan is a famed football Coach fallen on hard times. They deride but give him the job, just for a laugh. However, Walter quickly surprises them with his no-nonsense attitude as he takes full control and literally kicks them in to shape. The new manager turns out to be a maverick with only one agenda: he wants Rovers to win the Cup. (MOVIEHOUSE Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (1)
Overall, some fun weirdness with the theme of bush league football and a team of losers, who are put to the test by a very quirky coach, Keegan, in an excellent performance by Brendan Gleeson. It would be much better if the creators did not try to decorate it with extraordinary biblical symbolism (some of the speeches really miss the mark), and if the whole film were edited at the crucial moment in such a way that the finale does not become a confused and incoherent mess. If we compare it to Kachyňa's Kožené slunce, then it must be sportily admitted that the Czech village is much better than these Irish chutalists in terms of humor and atmosphere. And I'm not even talking about similarly tuned island films like The Full Monty. This truly belongs in the B league.
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Photo © Brother Films Limited
