reviewed by Charity Bishop
     

I love movies about real people. Even if I am not all that interested in their chosen profession, I am curious about the stories behind their success. The Damned United is both a success story and one that features complete and utter failure.

Sensing he has achieved as much success with the Leeds Football Team as he possibly can, legendary manager Don Revie (Colm Meaney) has decided to go on to much bigger and better things. His replacement is one of the most respected but equally hotheaded managers in the country -- Brian Clough (Michael Sheen). It is the opportunity of a lifetime but Brian enters it with a chip on his shoulder. He wastes no time in informing the multiple-championship-winning team that they are "rubbish" when it comes to good sportsmanship. He doesn't want any more nonsense; no putting spiked shoes into other players' knees, no intentional fouls, no fist fights on the playing field, and above all, no cheating, period. It does not win him many friends, especially when he expresses his contempt in interviews for his beloved predecessor. He is headed on a direct course for disaster, and no one quite knows what his problem is...

Flash back to seven years earlier. Brian Clough is the inexperienced manager of a small team in Northern England. Together with his best friend and assistant, Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall), he is determined to bring together an excellent team and advance into a higher league. This decision is spurred on by a visit and a trouncing from Leeds. Brian doesn't care so much that they lost on the field. What he does care about is the major snub he received from his hero, Don Revie. The only way he can think of to get back at the man is to do everything he can to get them on equal footing and beat Leeds. Unfortunately, this recklessness leads him to constantly butt heads with the head of the club, Sam Longson (Jim Broadbent). He doesn't like being left out of the decision making process, having to shell out an immense amount of money for new players, and being generally thought of as nothing more than a nuisance. It is only a matter of time before Brian makes a series of mistakes that could lead him to personal and professional disaster.

In England, "football" is a sport that Americans understand as "soccer." That's pretty much the only thing you need to know going into this film. It doesn't attempt to establish the rules of the game or require previous knowledge about the characters. Everything you need to learn about Brian Clough is unraveled in a very clever format, switching back and forth between his managing of Leeds and earlier experiences and decisions. It's an unusual approach that doesn't work with some projects but is ideal for this one, because it strings the audience along and keeps them constantly wondering how he came to obtain such a position and why he has such a problem with Don Revie. Anyone who reads the summary on the back of the DVD will know much about the inevitable pr-conclusion, but the story does not end there -- it progresses into a reconciliation that brings joy to the audience and allows us to understand that this failure is not going to destroy the man we have come to be so fond of, but rather teach him a valuable lesson. During the closing credits, we learn further details about the two managers during the closing credits -- and where each of their careers went will surprise you. One of them blew it; the other went on to become the most respected manager in English history.

Michael Sheen has created quite a following with an impressive range of roles -- for fantasy fans, he is known as the werewolf Lucian in the Underworld franchise and as a cold-blooded vampire in the teen-driven Twilight fandom, but more serious audiences will recognize him from the intelligent biopic Frost / Nixon and his dead-on portrayal of British Prime Minister Tony Blair in not one but two separate productions. He is a rising character actor known for his brilliant impersonations and he has brought Brian Clough to life in a way we will never forget; he takes a driven and often unlikable man and makes us fond of him, as we experience his highs and lows with him. Our despair at his bad decisions is as evident as our appreciation for his genius. It's apparent that Sheen relishes the part, helped by his talent for football and a terrific supporting cast. It's an interesting film about a fascinating man -- and one I would never have known about otherwise.

Both enjoyable and entertaining, The Damned United has only one flaw: its excessive use of foul language. Minor profanities are foregone for an enormous amount of British slang that won't offend American audiences but tend to raise eyebrows overseas ("bloody" and "buggared" receive frequent use). In the States, more troubling is the three dozen f-words. Europeans are far more liberal in their use of this particular word in everyday conversation than most Americans are, but I do have to wonder if that was really necessary in order to tell a decent story. In my opinion it diminishes the film and certainly makes it far less appealing for wider audiences. It really is a shame because otherwise it's an intriguing look at three men, two of which are friends and two of which are rivals -- one much more invested in revenge than the other. It's an exploration of how pride can cause a downfall, but also features themes of forgiveness and redemption. Best of all, it makes us believe that no matter how enormous our mistakes, we can always strive not to repeat them and go on to greater success.