Directed by Tom Hooper
The Damned United is an account of Brian Clough’s rise to fame as an English football manager and his 44 day tenure as manager of Leads United. Though it was a bit distracting to start off with, the film jumps back and forth between Clough’s astonishing successes with Hartlepool and Derby County teams and his short period managing the reigning champions Leads United in 1974. The narrative eventually comes together to reveal a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions, and you don’t actually have to know anything about English football to appreciate this true story.
The film seamlessly mixes archival footage into the drama and faithfully recreates clothing and hairstyles to bring us back to the 1960s and 1970s and the era of tight shorts. Clough (portrayed by Michael Sheen from The Queen and Frost/Nixon) was assisted by Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall) who had a talent for locating just the right person to import into a club in order for it to lift its game. He was also reluctantly supported by Derby County chairman (Jim Broardbent) as he took Derby County from the Third Division to becoming national champions.
Clough was a force to be reckoned with, but he became obsessed with Leads United manager Don Revie (Colm Meaney) after being ignored by him. Several press conferences saw Clough ranting about the dirty tactics used by Leads United and his need for revenge sometimes clouded his decision-making. Evidently Clough is legendary in England, not only for his brilliance as a manager, but for his passion to remove aggression from the national sport. His heart might have been in the right place but some of his other faculties let him down and in the end he was brought crashing down to earth by a formidable opponent – his own ego.
Lezly Herbert
