The Damned United

No, this film isn't really about soccer (the original depiction of the games themselves is a major bonus!) so much as it’s about one brilliant talented man who had to come to a personal epiphany. Michael Sheen is absolutely perfect as Brian Clough. He’s uncompromising and has undeniable charisma, but he is also selfish and ruthless, which are all qualities this English coaching legend manages with consummate ease. He’s the one who mainly passes the ball of this conceptually not-so-traditional biography to the final scoring position, with the goal being audience sympathy. I don't deny that the ending is a foul worthy of at least a yellow card, but why not turn a blind eye sometimes? 4 ½. (02/09/2009)

I was expecting a regular sports movie “How the outsider and the looser eventually won" in soccer colors. But no. Most of the movie is a coach’s “War of the Roses", perfect period music, pleasant hyperbole and Michael Sheen, who shines again. This time as an ambitious, capable, guy who can’t see further than the end of his nose. Simply a picture that loves soccer and isn’t afraid of showing it, even though you won’t see any soccer as such in it. And the ways in which the individual matches are (not) imparted to us are very inventive. (15/08/2009)

Considering I’m not into soccer, I quite enjoyed this movie. The character of the big-mouthed, rage-shaking coach was also given subtle shades of hidden insecurity in M. Sheen's performance (just facial expressions, but not embodied in words). I also liked the editing concept and especially the fleeting glimpses of matches (often just the score is shown). That was more than enough, and many times it was more effective than trying to recreate games long-since played. Because, even though it was mainly about soccer, the movie was mainly about the self-centeredness of one pretty unpleasant guy who clearly knew a lot about soccer. IN A NUTSHELL: Would they let him train in this authoritative and individualistic way today? I doubt it. Soccer is all about money now and I'd say it constrains the sport a lot, concentrating more on the money pipeline and less on entertainment and hard work. (27/03/2023)