The Damned United Review 2009
October 8, 2009 - Based on David Peace's acclaimed novel The Damned Utd, The Damned United marks the third big screen collaboration between actor Michael Sheen and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Peter Morgan following The Queen and Frost/Nixon. The movie recounts the dismal 44 day tenure of outspoken British football manager Brian Clough (Sheen), who succeeds his wildly successful rival Don Revie (Star Trek's Colm Meaney) as manager of reigning champs Leeds United in 1974.
Occasionally flashing back to Clough's prior (and more successful) spell as manager of Derby County, The Damned United chronicles how Clough's bitter resentment of Revie fuels his passion to erase his memory at Leeds, a move that instantly earns him the contempt of its aggressive and insubordinate players who worship Revie. Clough didn't just want to win, he wanted to change the way Leeds -- perceived at the time as aggressive and cynical louts who'd throw cheap shots -- played and were managed.
Clough's belligerence and shameless media-courting soon get the better of him and he will ultimately alienate not just his employer Sam Longson (Jim Broadbent) and Leeds teammates, but also his right-hand man and longtime friend Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall). What results is a grueling comeuppance for the brilliant but brash Brian CloughFeaturing more bromance than British football (of which there is surprisingly little shown that isn't archival footage), The Damned United showcases the latest chameleon-like, tour-de-force performance by Michael Sheen, but the film still leaves you wondering what exactly made Clough tick. We understand his need to surpass Don Revie, but who was he before he got the jobs at Darby and Leeds? Maybe British audiences can fill in those blanks, but to American audiences he seems to have always been a brash, outspoken and driven man. (Perhaps he was.) A little more insight into how Clough got the way he did wouldn't have hurt. The Damned United employs the typical "greatest hits" structure of so many other sports films and biopics, but it also takes a less conventional approach in that it studies its subject's failures rather than triumphs. There's the inevitable march towards The Big Game, the coach's attempts to win the respect of his team and deal with the brass, as well as the rivalries and fractured relationships that threaten to derail them -- but they're all turned on their head here. A typical Hollywood biopic would have followed Clough's post-Leeds struggle to regain his glory, ending with him at the top of his game again, but this film's approach was much fresher and enjoyable. Sheen delivers another charming, riveting portrayal of a popular figure in recent British history following his eerie turns as Tony Blair and David Frost. His Clough is a tempest of ego and ambition, intimidating anyone who might be an obstacle even as it becomes increasingly evident that his bluster is a mask for his fears and insecurities. But this is a (platonic) love story between two men, and Sheen's Clough, as powerful a portrait as it is, wouldn't have worked without Spall's less bombastic but just as powerful performance as Clough's better half, Peter Taylor. Spall certainly isn't a dead ringer for his character the way that Sheen and Meaney are for theirs, but he succeeds in showing why Taylor was such an indispensable friend and asset to Clough. Broadbent and Meaney are both solid in their respective small yet important roles, but the Leeds and Darby team members are given short shrift. It's not really their story, but they all seem to blend into one rough and tumble, faceless mass after awhile. Only Stephen Graham proves somewhat memorable and that's largely because of his familiarity from other recent movies.
Ultimately, The Damned United feels like a TV movie, a very good made-for-HBO one (not surprising considering it was directed by John Adams's Tom Hooper, who replaced The Queen's Stephen Frears at the helm), but a TV movie nonetheless. It's well-acted and well-written, but the movie lacks the scale and impact of a feature film, with only the grand lead performances to occasionally remind you that you're watching a big screen feature. The Damned United is definitely worth checking out, but if you wait until it's on cable then you won't have missed much in terms of presentation or intimacy..
