Film Review: The Damned United (2009)
Association football, or soccer, is the most popular sport in the world, yet there are relatively few films dedicated to it. Even in the home of the Beautiful Game, many football films fail to capture the excitement of the sport itself. Tom Hooper's 2009 sports biopic, The Damned United, is a prime example of this. Based on the 2006 biographical novel by David Peace, the film tells the story of Brian Clough, a legendary football manager, and his short, troubled tenure at Leeds United, one of England's greatest football clubs.
The film's plot begins in 1974 when Clough, played by Michael Sheen, takes over Leeds United after his previous manager, Don Revie (played by Colm Meaney), is appointed to manage England's national team. Through flashbacks, we see how Clough developed an intense personal rivalry with Revie while managing Second Division team Derby County with the help of his loyal assistant Peter Taylor (played by Timothy Spall). The two parted ways shortly before Clough took over Leeds, but the new club proved to be a serious challenge for him. Clough's criticisms of his players' ungentlemanly ways of playing the game earned him the animosity of both players and fans, and as the season started, Leeds struggled. Clough's questionable decisions, fuelled by his ego and pride, were to blame for this.
The Damned United boasts a number of talented individuals both in front of and behind the camera. The script was adapted by Peter Morgan, a writer known for his biopics, including The Queen and The Crown. Tom Hooper, who went on to direct the Oscar-winning The King's Speech, took over direction of the film after Stephen Frears left during production. Michael Sheen, who had already made a name for himself playing historical figures in films based on Morgan's scripts (Tony Blair in The Queen and David Frost in Frost/Nixon), delivers a strong performance as Clough, backed up by a solid supporting cast.
Despite its limited budget, The Damned United is an ambitious and technically well-made film. The 1970s setting is reconstructed very well, and Sheen's performance is complemented by those of Spall, Meaney, and Jim Broadbent as Derby chairman Sam Longson. Hooper maintains a good pace throughout the film, which clocks in at a relatively short 97 minutes, something of a rarity for biopics these days.
The Damned United received positive reviews from critics, both in Britain and the US, although many of the latter seemed to lack an understanding of the sport itself. However, this is the main problem with the film - the entire script is built around a relatively short episode in the history of Leeds United, which may have been interesting to English football fans in the 1970s but may require too much explanation for modern audiences.
Despite its title and subject matter, there is very little actual football action in the film. Morgan and Hooper seem so focused on Clough that they all but ignore the actual Leeds United players and the game itself. This makes the film feel disconnected from the subject matter, and the lack of football action only exacerbates this problem. To make matters worse, Clough's greatest successes (which actually happened after his ill-fated stint at Leeds) are simply displayed in the closing titles.
Not surprisingly, given its critical praise and historical inaccuracies, The Damned United failed at the box office. The film's controversies and criticism from the Clough family didn't generate enough publicity to save it. Ultimately, while it is evident that compelling football films can be made—consider works like Bend It Like Beckham or Goal!—The Damned United ultimately falls short of this mark.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
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