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Today, Brian Clough is often considered “the greatest manager England never had”. Alongside his assistant manager Peter Taylor, he earned Nottingham Forest promotion to the First Division in 1977. The following season, the Reds won the top-tier league for the first (and only) time, then cemented the fairy tale whirlwind by taking home back-to-back European Cups. But The Damned United doesn’t follow the Middlesbrough man (played by Michael Sheen) taking a club with little prior success to remarkable new heights, nor does it even particularly focus on his earlier feats with Derby County. Instead, Tom Hooper (yes, that Tom Hooper) zeroes in on the nadir of his career: a disastrous stint managing Leeds United that ended with his dismissal after only 44 days.
The Damned United paints a portrait of ambition, obsession and rivalry, complete with a bevy of trademark shit-eating grins from Sheen, who fashions himself into the perfect Icarus. Graham praises: “He’s fantastic everywhere, but I can’t think of anything he’s done that’s as much of a tornado as his portrayal of Brian Clough. Arrogant, vulnerable, charismatic, abrasive, unknowable and empathetic, it is a work of genius.” Adapted from David Peace’s largely fictionalized, somewhat controversial book of the same name, the film tracks Clough’s well-publicized feud with former Leeds manager Don Revie (Colm Meaney) and his relationship with Taylor (Timothy Spall), who doesn’t join him in his Elland Road venture. It is, as Fran puts it, “a Moneyball for the boys”, and crucially, in a sentiment echoed by many reviewers, a rom-com. Come for the footie, stay for Sheen begging on his knees to be taken back, arms thrown wide. Everything is romantic, indeed!
