The Damned United: Review
Adapted from the David Pearce novel of the same name, The Damned United is a stark account of Brian Clough's managerial stints at Derby County Football Club and Leeds United Football Club, revealing the stresses and intense compications that accompany the often-hellish thrill ride that is football management.
Michael Sheen plays the world-famous manager; who went on to be the only manager to take a team to two consecutive European Cup victories, and relishes the role, doing a wonderful job of converying the emotional rollercoaster ride and frustrations that come with it.
Alongside Sheen (of Frost/Nixon and The Queen fame) are Jim Broadbent, Timothy Spall and Stephen Graham who i personally felt didn't shine as much as one would assume they should. Graham in particular is an actor I assumed would perform well but seems miscast as a Scot when he clearly has a clear and sharp Scouse accent.
One of my biggest criticisms of the film was that the chronological narrative is very confused. Director Peter Morgan clearly felt his system of narrative would convey the complications of Clough's career and would demonstrate the topsy-turvy nature of the job but it felt to me more of a hindrence in trying to understand the plot. Quite frankly, whilst the personal rivalry between Clough and Revie (Leeds manager) is obviously important in explaining to the audience where Clough seemed to fail in his managerial duties at Derby, the to-and-fro technique employed in a bid to create tension and a sense of unavenged frustration simply ruins any natural flow the film could and should have possessed.
As a football fan myself, I was able to understand the nature of football management and the frustration of results not going a manager's way, the depression that seeps into Clough's mind throughout his time at Derby and Leeds is brilliantly brought out by Sheen who seems able to reprise signficantly dramatic roles and delivers them with credibility.
I can't honestly recommend the film outright, for I don't think it would keep everyone satisfied or entertained and seems to lack focus at times but once again I am left praising Michael Sheen, a man who is certainly not as well-known as he should be and who does so well in each role I have experienced, though his inability to decide whether or not Clough had a Welsh accent - here's a hint, he wasn't - remains one of the biggest mysteries of the film.
7/10
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