Sometimes there comes a film that after you have seen it you feel like you need to watch it again immediately after it ends. And then again. Then, if you're feeling a bit adventurous, throw it on for a third time. It is a rare phenomenon for myself and also something I have grown out of as I have got older, but The Damned United (2009) was very much one of these films. When I first borrowed this off my cousin I knew very little about it, but I enjoyed football and films so win win in my view. I didn't realise when I first put it on that it would take over my life for the proceeding week, watching it at least once a day, every day. It became an obsession. I just fell in love with it instantly. I have seen this film now over twenty times and have yet to grow tired of it. It is just endlessly watchable. The film, based off the book of the same name by David Peace, follows the career of famed British football manager Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) and his time at both Derby County and his infamous 44 day spell as manager of Leeds United. Following the ups and downs and focusing on the relationship between Brian Clough, his assistant Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall) and the players and board members of both Derby and Leeds.
The film is brilliant in its simplicity. There is never anything spectacular about the film-making technique or style. It never really takes any risks in its methods or ideas. Instead it stick to the basics and it is perfect for this film. It is a film about larger than life people with huge personalities and the film doesn't need to over do itself with elaborate directing or cinematography, the characters are elaborate enough themselves. This is not to say that the film is not well directed with good cinematography because of course it is, its just that the focus isn't placed onto it (but Director Tom Hooper would get his chance 2 year later when he helmed the epic musical Les Miserables(2012)). The best moments of film-making in my opinion come in the way that the film shows the action of football matches without actually showing the action. There are a couple moments where they show footballing action which come across as the most unrealistic moments in the film,mainly as it is the actors playing and so there skill levels are all over the show, but the moments where they show the emotion of the action rather than the action are the most effective parts of the film. The one moment of this which sticks out is during the second match between Brian Clough's Derby County and Don Revie's, played by Colm Meaney, Leeds United. By this point of the film Clough's own personal rivalry with Leeds has become clear and his raw emotion and desire to beat them comes through in this scene. Instead of sitting in the dugout and watching the match he locks himself away in his office. A window at the top of the frame looks over the stadium and the action is played out through the appearance of the fans through said window, and the noise that accompanies this crowd appearing. It is a masterfully shot scene which brings across the stress that he scene is putting on Brian Clough as well giving us the action of the match without ever showing it. f course the scene is helped by the acting which is stellar, and this stellar acting is not just confined to this scene.
Every single major player in this film, down to a tee, are spectacular. Being a British film it of course stars Jim Broadbent, who plays Sam Longson the owner of Derby County. He obviously puts in a great performance as he always does, and is able to be both loving and charming as well as menacing and malicious within the same film. There is also a good performance from Stephen Graham as Billy Bremner. His role is not a particularly big one and he only has a few scenes in the film in which to show off his acting prowess but he knock at the park like always (to be honest I just think Stephen Graham is a hugely under appreciated actor and I just wanted to heap some deserved praise on him). Colm Meaney is also brilliant in the role of Don Revie, helped quite a due to his uncanny resemblance to the real man. He comes across as a humble and genuine man, but also as a man who will do anything to win. He isn't particularly unlikeable in the film but the fact that Brian Clough is so likeable and Revie is his nemesis makes you hate the man. But of course the two stand out performances come from Timothy Spall as Peter Taylor and Michael Sheen as Brian Clough. Their chemistry together is captivating,charming and utterly believable and their trials ad tribulations become the audiences as you become so bought in to the relationship between the pair,. Spall is clearly fantastic as h is in almost everything he is in, but the real star is Sheen. This may be my favourite performance of all time. Big claim and I don't want to commit to that claim without having a proper think about it but as I write this it may just be my favourite. It is a performance that has everything. It is funny, it is tragic, it is angry, it is charming, it is sympathetic, it is amazing. I need to wrap this up because I could spend a whole 1000 words on the adoration of this performance but I won't bore you with it as it most likely turn into incoherent ramblings of a man possessed.
This review may not get across my absolute pure and unadulterated love for this film and I wish I was exaggerating. I can put this film on anytime of day or night and I will watch it all, it's not stopping for no man. There are very few films that I will do that for and this one may just pip all the other examples to the post. It is not my favourite film of all time but it is definitely up in my top ten and I can't see it living that spot anytime soon. It does help that I am a huge football fan as this film is about football, but I don't think you need to like football to like this film, you just need to like people. It is a film about larger than life personalities and it is something about these personalities that draw me to them. I said I didn't want this review to turn in to the ramblings if mad man and I am aware that this is what it is turning in to, but fuck it. This film is incredible and I implore you all to seek out as soon as physically possible. Do it now. Sell your cat if you have to. Just watch it.