Saturday, February 27, 2010

The Damned United (2009)

Director: Tom Hooper. Cast: Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Jim Broadbent. 98 min. Rated R. UK/USA. Sports.

I'm probably at fault for not ever having heard the name Brian Clough, the most famous English soccer manager ever. The Damned United, even though a sports movie, performs an incredible task: it doesn't fall prey to any sports movie cliche. Not even one - to the point that only a total few minutes of the movie occurs in the soccer field. Instead, it becomes Clough's sincere character study. Sheen (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) again proves his unique character actor skills. If you know who Brian Clough was, you must see this movie. If you don't, it's about time you did.

PS: Has anybody ever noticed what a valuable supporting presence Timothy Spall (the Harry Potter movies, Sweeney Todd, The Last Samurai, Vanilla Sky, Intimacy, Secrets & Lies, ...) is?

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