It's another fabulous collaboration of screenwriter Peter Morgan and actor Michael Sheen following "The Queen" and "Frost/Nixon." "The Damned United" is not exactly a football movie, it tells the dramatic story of an enduring friendship against all odds, breakup and make-up, hurts and forgiveness, of two men (Brian Clough and Peter Taylor) who happened to share their love of football, both have supportive family, and their partnership in training football teams turned out to be successful for Derby County and latter European fame beyond England.
Michael Sheen portrays Clough, his glibness, arrogance, and over-confidence personality certainly comes through, yet his bond with Taylor, at once fragile and solid - fragile as Clough was selfishly reaching out for fame and running after popularity in the lime light, solid as Taylor understood Clough and not stood in his way and let him be - is sensitively delivered in subtle shades. Tim Spall is truly a match to Sheen in portraying Taylor. It's master-acting at play. (Quite 'floored' by Spall's powerful nuanced performance in Mike Leigh's "All or Nothing" 2002 and he dependably delivers in supporting roles like "The Last Samurai" 2003 opposite Tom Cruise or being Nathaniel, a small part in "Enchanted." 2007).
This may not be a film for every taste. It's certainly not a Hollywood 'commercial' product. Director Tom Hooper (of HBO series "John Adams") gave us a film that focused on Clough and Taylor - there is plenty of heart among the technical jargon, true to life football profession situations which were carefully depicted, down to the Leeds United and Derby County team members. Steady supporting roles by Colm Meany as Don Revie at Leeds and Jim Broadbent as Sam Longson at Derby. The music by Rob Lane matches the mood of Brian Clough's attitude and predicament, internal tangles and external mockery of himself. It is maturing the hard way in character for Clough and the test of enduring friendship with Taylor delineated.
I'm hardly into football, yet the story focus and the exceptional combination of Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall in the same film - that was enough incentive for me to see "The Damned United." Give this film a chance, you just might grow to like it as the story unfurls.
Michael Sheen portrays Clough, his glibness, arrogance, and over-confidence personality certainly comes through, yet his bond with Taylor, at once fragile and solid - fragile as Clough was selfishly reaching out for fame and running after popularity in the lime light, solid as Taylor understood Clough and not stood in his way and let him be - is sensitively delivered in subtle shades. Tim Spall is truly a match to Sheen in portraying Taylor. It's master-acting at play. (Quite 'floored' by Spall's powerful nuanced performance in Mike Leigh's "All or Nothing" 2002 and he dependably delivers in supporting roles like "The Last Samurai" 2003 opposite Tom Cruise or being Nathaniel, a small part in "Enchanted." 2007).
This may not be a film for every taste. It's certainly not a Hollywood 'commercial' product. Director Tom Hooper (of HBO series "John Adams") gave us a film that focused on Clough and Taylor - there is plenty of heart among the technical jargon, true to life football profession situations which were carefully depicted, down to the Leeds United and Derby County team members. Steady supporting roles by Colm Meany as Don Revie at Leeds and Jim Broadbent as Sam Longson at Derby. The music by Rob Lane matches the mood of Brian Clough's attitude and predicament, internal tangles and external mockery of himself. It is maturing the hard way in character for Clough and the test of enduring friendship with Taylor delineated.
I'm hardly into football, yet the story focus and the exceptional combination of Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall in the same film - that was enough incentive for me to see "The Damned United." Give this film a chance, you just might grow to like it as the story unfurls.