Review of The Damned United (2009) by Erno K — 06 May 2010

I must say, Brian Clough was a cheeky man if ever there was one (and he really was a prickly bastard, I checked). Fortunately for him, he was also a great manager.

For a football aficionado like myself, it is endlessly fascinating to watch a drama that takes place within a club. Leeds' subsequent fate makes it all even more interesting. For a time, they were a dominant force in English football though.

Michael Sheen gives an awesome performance as the foot-in-mouth champion, and if the stuff he utters in the movie is accurate, and I now believe they are, he certainly had brass balls. I was stunned to hear some of the shit that came out of his mouth. Wouldn't be possible today, at least on that scale. Clough must have been his own worst enemy at the time. He just couldn't help being an asshole.

I really liked how the film mixed authentic material with other stuff. It's done very stylistically and it blends in perfectly. It actually drew me in even more, as I got excited after seeing real match footage. Liverpool winning Leeds didn't hurt. *wide grin*.

And for once, skipping in time was handled like it should. With clear dates on screen every time. I constantly knew where we were and no time was wasted thinking if the time period just changed. That's how you fucking do it.

Fans of the beautiful game surely get a kick out of this movie, but everyone else can enjoy the quality acting on display here as well. One of my favorite movies of the year so far.