Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) is a very famous man in England and in the world of soccer. Personally, I had never heard of him before this film, but I am not a huge fan of soccer either. However, you do not have to be to enjoy this great film that has soccer in it but is truly about a man and a rivalry.
The Damned United puts two men against each other: Clough and Don Revie (Colm Meaney). Set in England in the 1960s and 1970s, Clough was the manager of Derby County, a team that was in Division II. He was able to turn that team around and not only move up to Division I, but became champions.
The team they beat was Revie’s Leeds United. Leeds was that team who always was in 1st place and no one could knock them off. Leeds was the best of the best in Division I and Revie was treated like a king because of all of his success. But the feud between the two teams took a backseat to the feud between Clough and Revie. And it all started with a handshake. A handshake that never happened.
Clough wanted to beat Revie and with the help of Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall), they did just that. Taylor was a great scout and got players that fit perfectly in to their football system. And Clough became a rising star and a successful manager. But that was not good enough for him. He beat his arch nemesis, but it was far from over.
Revie leaves the very successful Leeds United to become the manager of England. And Leeds United approached the last man you would ever think to take his place. The one and only Brian Clough. He coached Leeds United for 44 days and then it was over. Clough wanted to change everything that Revie had built at Leeds, but history had a way of repeating itself and Clough ruined it.
The players were “Revie’s boys” and Clough would insult their former coach and how the team had played in the past. They couldn’t even say Revie’s name. Clough had a big mouth and a huge ego. The Leeds players knew that and they were not about to play for a guy like Clough. Clough was a brilliant manager, but he let a feud get the best of him. He became a different man and wanted to win for himself because he felt like he had something to prove.
That is quite a bit of story and I could go in to more detail, but I will restrain from doing so. It’s a great story about a battle of egos between two established soccer managers. Revie and Clough are in the soccer history books for sure. Sheen and Meaney do an amazing job portraying these two iconic figures. The rivalry is just as gripping as the chemistry between these two men. But Sheen really shines as Clough.
Sheen has played Tony Blair in The Queen and David Frost in Frost/Nixon. So he knows how to bring real people to the screen and he impresses every time he gets the opportunity. He is underrated as an actor, and few men can play Blair, Frost, Clough, and be in the Underworld trilogy and still deliver every single time.
Spall is fantastic as Taylor. Spall is a familiar face and usually plays unpleasant characters (Sweeney Todd and Harry Potter films), but that’s not the case in this film. Taylor is the one man who gets the big picture and does not let success or greed take over his life. During a certain time, Taylor has to split from Clough because everything becomes too much. Clough became too much. Clough needed Taylor a lot more than Taylor needed Clough.
Tom Hooper (HBO’s John Adams) directed a good sports film about a rivalry that few people know about in America. It shows where both managers are coming from and their status in England. Neither man is innocent, but Clough bit off more than he could chew when he decided to take over a team that never wanted him in the first place.
The Damned United is a damn good film. See what I did there? This film has great performances from Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, and Colm Meaney. However, Sheen’s performance is most notable and I am wondering which history-making person is next on his list to play.
The film is about a sport that has not caught on a whole lot here in the United States, but I hope more people see this film in this country. You will appreciate soccer and appreciate what these men did for that sport. This rivalry has to be one of the best ever in the world of sports. And whether Clough and Revie were right or wrong, you cannot ignore their competitiveness and passion for the game.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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