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revdorothyl at 02:30pm on 09/11/2009 under movie reviews
revdorothyl at 02:30pm on 09/11/2009 under movie reviewsJust a quick note to say that I finally got to see "The Damned United" yesterday afternoon, starring Michael Sheen (sporting a few more pounds than when he was playing 'Lucian the Luscious Lycan' in the "Underworld" prequel back in January of this year, but still cute as a button, bless him!) as football/soccer manager Brian Clough.
"And RevD saw that it was good."
Honestly, I've never voluntarily watched any soccer, except in the context of a key movie moment (in "Bend It Like Beckham", for example) and I'd never heard of Brian Clough before I saw Michael Sheen promoting the film on "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" a couple of months ago, but you don't actually NEED to know anything about the game or the history of these teams and personalities: the film gives you everything you need in order to get the HUMAN drama of it all, right there on the screen.
Score yet another brilliant, chameleon-like performance for Michael Sheen playing an actual, 20th century public figure (David Frost in "Frost/Nixon", Tony Blair in "The Queen")-- in this case, a football manager with strengths and vulnerabilities like any other human being, but writ a bit larger perhaps, and with an extra FLAIR that means you can't take your eyes off of him, even when he's practically shooting himself in the foot with his own too-ready words.
Plus, there's Timothy Spall (whom I always picture singing the Mikado's song in "Topsy-Turvy") as Clough's professional 'other half' and Colm Meaney as Clough's professional nemesis, the former and much-loved manager of the Leeds United team, which Clough was asked to take over in 1974.
See this film if you get the chance, even if -- like me -- you've never heard of most of these people and don't actually follow the sport at all. All you need to know is it's a film about complicated, interesting, very entertaining characters, well-played by highly talented actors.
"And RevD saw that it was good."
Honestly, I've never voluntarily watched any soccer, except in the context of a key movie moment (in "Bend It Like Beckham", for example) and I'd never heard of Brian Clough before I saw Michael Sheen promoting the film on "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" a couple of months ago, but you don't actually NEED to know anything about the game or the history of these teams and personalities: the film gives you everything you need in order to get the HUMAN drama of it all, right there on the screen.
Score yet another brilliant, chameleon-like performance for Michael Sheen playing an actual, 20th century public figure (David Frost in "Frost/Nixon", Tony Blair in "The Queen")-- in this case, a football manager with strengths and vulnerabilities like any other human being, but writ a bit larger perhaps, and with an extra FLAIR that means you can't take your eyes off of him, even when he's practically shooting himself in the foot with his own too-ready words.
Plus, there's Timothy Spall (whom I always picture singing the Mikado's song in "Topsy-Turvy") as Clough's professional 'other half' and Colm Meaney as Clough's professional nemesis, the former and much-loved manager of the Leeds United team, which Clough was asked to take over in 1974.
See this film if you get the chance, even if -- like me -- you've never heard of most of these people and don't actually follow the sport at all. All you need to know is it's a film about complicated, interesting, very entertaining characters, well-played by highly talented actors.