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Tom Hooper, The Damned United
12/06/2009 I was hesitant to spend the little money I had left post-Black Friday on a movie I didn’t know too much about. Sports movies are typically hit-or-miss, and except for The Big Green (which isn’t exactly a masterpiece), I hadn’t seen or even known of too many other films centered around soccer. And yet, Athens’ Cine theatre was only showing the film for one more night, and I decided to bite the bullet. I’m glad I did. Very glad indeed. Michael Sheen knew how to turn on the charm as David Frost in last year’s Frost/Nixon, but what he did with that role is nothing compared to what he accomplishes with this one. Sheen plays the real-life soccer coach Brian Clough, a married man and father of two boys who has just been named the new manager for the Leeds team, currently ranked as the best in its division. But there’s a giant problem. Clough, who seems to have an issue shooting his mouth off, had stated in the past that the Leeds players were cheaters, purposefully wounding other athletes and taking dives to fake injuries. Clough once managed the Derby County, and during that time, his team and the Leeds players were fierce rivals. This is why it’s such a shock that Clough, of all people, should take over. The film tells its story out of sequence, opening in 1974, when Clough gets the big job, and highlighting various years up until that point to help explain certain aspects better. While nonlinear storytelling can oftentimes lead to confusion, that never becomes an issue here. As soon as Sheen appears onscreen singing “What’s New Pussycat?,” you immediately like him. And even when his confidence spills over into narcissism, you can’t help but develop some sympathy for the guy when he’s struggling. At the end of the film, you see the real-life men the film is based upon. And while Sheen isn’t exactly a dead ringer for Clough (American actor Gareth Williams actually resembles Clough a great deal), there’s no question that he’s an engaging joy to watch on screen, turning in his career-best performance to date. Great as Sheen is to watch on his own, it’s when he’s paired up with his co-stars that things really get interesting. He and Timothy Spall seem perfectly matched together as Clough and Peter Taylor, the manager’s better half. The two actors together account for some of the film’s funnier moments, particularly when Clough has to right a major wrong with his partner in crime towards the end of the film. Playing rival manager Don Revie, Colm Meaney is really the only actor who looks the part of the person he’s portraying. Brooding, calculating and persistent, Meaney’s Revie is a man you wouldn’t want to cross, particularly if you’re the opposing team on the field. If there’s one moment in the film that stands out as the most memorable, it’s Revie’s side-by-side television interview with Clough. It never feels like either Sheen or Meaney is acting. It’s as though we’re watching a live, tense debate between two fierce competitors, and the only thing stopping them from taking the gloves completely off is the limited amount of time they have together. Also noteworthy in a much less prominent role is the always magnificent Jim Broadbent as Sam Longson. While he was a much kinder, gentler soul in this summer’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as Professor Slughorn, here he's a forceful, potty-mouthed money man that doesn’t mind putting Clough in his place whenever he feels the young manager gets out of line. You can almost see the sparks that erupt between the two men whenever they engage in arguments, and those happen quite often. It is perhaps too early to call The Damned United one of the best sports films ever made. It is not an impulsive move, however, to label it as one of the top ten films of the year so far. Of course, that could change within the next few months if the next slot of films is better. Chalk it up to good, clean competition. Comments [post a comment]Comments are closed |
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
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