Simon Cowell you high-trousered freak - justice is done!
Simon Cowell you high-trousered freak - justice is done!
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Film only review
When depressed postman Eric is forced to come face to face with the woman he abandoned thirty years earlier, his already fragile mental state takes a turn for the worse. Eric lives with his two step sons from his second marriage but his second wife is long gone, leaving Eric to look after the two idle tearaways who have turned the house into a place to store stolen goods and for their equally unpleasant friends to doss down for the night. Seeing that Eric is feeling low, his friends try to help him out and one of them, Meatballs, brings round a self-help manual which recommends imagining you are someone you really admire in order to raise your self-worth. Eric thinks of his idol, the former Manchester United number seven Eric Cantona so you can imagine his surprise when a few days later Cantona turns up at the house with some advice for Eric – delivered of course in true Cantona style.
Remind you of anything? Think of Woody
Allen’s “Play it again, Sam” only in this movie, the conscience character is played by the genuine article. It was Cantona who approached veteran director Ken Loach with an idea for the movie and while the film does veer off into frequent “Cantona the king” moments, this is really Eric’s story and not Cantona’s. This movie will end up no doubt being Loach’s most successful film and, with Cantona’s presence and a hefty injection of comedy that Loach’s movies aren’t associated with, it is his most commercial to date.
Steve Evets is excellent as Eric, this tragic downtrodden but likeable character who wants to change his life but doesn’t know how but it is the wonderful rapport between the two Erics that really lights up the film. Eric addresses his hero like a god, with utter reverence while the brooding Cantona ruminates with great concentration and offers sage advice. Young actor Gerard Kearns puts in a noteworthy performance as Ryan, Eric’s stepson who gets out of his depth with some local gangsters.
It’s not all tension and sorrow, however; John Henshaw plays virtually the same character as he did in Early Doors (the landlord of The Grapes) but it is a role that fits brilliantly into this movie and he is at the heart of the comic scenes. For all the tragedy this is ultimately a feel good movie and the laughs will be remembered long after the one or two more brutal scenes. There’s plenty of blokey leg pulling and football gags but it’s not a football movie; it’s really a film about friendship and looking after each other.
Although I really enjoyed “Looking for Eric” it’s certainly not without flaws. Cantona plays himself – or maybe the stoned Manchester postman’s version of himself – and while the brooding Frenchman needs hardly to act all to carry off the role, that French accent is sometimes quite difficult to understand and as he sometimes slips in French expressions, you couldn’t always be sure whether he was speaking French or English. The classic Cantona proverbs become quite tedious after a while too and we plunge into the collected thoughts of a retired French footballer and you long for a bit more comedy to liven things up.
I’m not a Manchester United fan, which shouldn’t matter a jot when it comes to enjoying the film, but towards the middle of the film it seemed like Eric was almost interviewing Cantona and it gave Cantona a chance to explain about the incident at Crystal Palace that saw him banned from English football for nine months. I felt this scene showed “Looking for Eric” as being rather contrived in a way that might not have looked so obvious if it had been omitted.
The quite sudden escalation of drama towards the end didn’t feel right at all and changed the film from a social realist piece to something quite different and I don’t think that the outcome really showed much of an insight into the seedy and brutal world of gang warfare. I can’t think that Loach has ever stepped into this world before and he didn’t seem to really understand it based on the way it is portrayed here.
Nonetheless this is a really enjoyable film that will do very well at the box office and no doubt be in many stockings come Christmas. It is challenging, moving, shocking and most of all, very, very funny.
Certificate 15 116 minutes On general release June 12th
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: Can switch off the commentary, split into manageable sections, moves are easy to pick up Disadvantages: Music can get a bit boring and repetitive
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