Review of The Damned United (2009) by Daniel K — 09 Aug 2010

3: It's not what one expects when embarking upon a viewing of a good ole sports picture. However, one shouldn't really be surprised by this given the Peter Morgan script. He usually doesn't work in the conventional and mundane, not that sports pictures are mundane, but they're usually very predictable.

This one would only be predictable if one were familiar with the eventual outcome based on historical events. It's a character study and a buddy picture, although this is somewhat unclear until the third act.

I have to imagine this is the kind of picture that is absolutely fascinating to British football fans, but it was simply a solidly entertaining and engrossing film for me. As always, quality performance from Sheen and the rest of the cast.

Most sports films are almost entirely inspiring, or at least they seem that way on the surface. This is a sports film that involves disappointment, humiliation, failure, and shame, which is fairly rare.

It ends up being somewhat inspiring, but only due to the story arc that is not included in the picture, but only shown through news footage at the end. Bravo. Films that push genre's to the point of breaking are often the best.