The Damned United tells the story of Brian Clough's fateful 44 day period as manager of Leeds United in 1974, whilst cutting back to his rise to the Second Division title with Derby in 1967. The film offers an interesting portrait of one of football's greatest managers, particularly as it focusing the the period when he failed rather than the success he later achieved.
Michael Sheen, who continues to play real people and now has Clough to ad to his roles as David Frost and Tony Blair, and here Sheen is brilliant as the egocentric football manager. Yet it was Timothy Spall as Clough's assistant Peter Taylor who's performance stuck with me. He came across as an extremely talented coach with an eye for talent and tactics who for most of time lives in the shadow of Clough's ego.
The film does offer a interesting insight into a young ambitious directors insecurities and fears as he faces off on numerous occasions with the successful Don Revie. A final scene in which both actors ar interviewed shows not only Clough's arrogance to his rival but also demonstrates Clough natural inability to acknowledge his own flaws and weaknesses.
In all this is a film with a strong script, from The Queen and Frost/Nixon writer Peter Morgan and directed with conservative assurance from Tom Hooper. The film is littered with great actors from Jim Broadbent as Derby chairman Sam Longson, Colm Meaney as Don Revie and Stephen Graham as Billy Bremner.
There are very few great films about football, mainly because cinema is unable to capture to unpredicability and beauty of the game but The Damned United manages to avoid this conumdrum by showing very little football and instead focusing on behind the scenes at the football club.
Overall The Damned United is a enjoyable film with some excellent central performances but its not a film which lingers in the memory long after watching it.
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