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“Without me you’re less than half… you’re nothing!”
In 1968, Derby County manager Brian Clough is excited at the prospect of meeting his managerial hero, Don Revie, when their teams are drawn together in the F.A. Cup. It is a match that will shape Clough’s managerial style for years to come. Six years later, Revie has been appointed manager of England, after being the successful successful manager of Leeds United for thirteen years. In filling the resulting vacancy, the Leeds board turn to one of the fiercest critics of the team Revie built: Clough.
The Damned United is based on a 2006 book of the same name by David Peace. It courted controversy by presenting a fictionalised account of the Clough/Revie rivalry, angering Clough’s widow and family and earning a libel action against it by former Leeds star Johnny Giles. The latter was settled out of court when some minor changes were made to the published book.
The film begins as Clough gives his first interview on becoming manager of Leeds. From there, the action centres on Clough’s struggle to impose himself on Revie’s former players: personality clashes ensue, both on the training ground and in the boardroom. As he attempts to shape the team into one that plays the way he wants, there are flashbacks to his stint at Derby, a time that shaped both his home and professional lives.
At this point I should mention Michael Sheen’s portrayal of Clough. This talented young actor has gained many plaudits in recent years for his roles as British icons of the late 20th Century: Kenneth Williams, David Frost, Tony Blair and in this case Brian Clough have all won him critical acclaim, and words like ‘chameleon’ tend to get banded around freely. For me, Sheen’s genius is in living the life of the person he portrays, and getting the audience to live it with him. While many actors labour away at playing a role, Michael Sheen brings his to life, seemingly with ease.
Sheen is ably supported in The Damned United by veteran actor Timothy Spall (best known for comedy/drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet) as Clough’s right hand man Peter Taylor, and Colm Meaney (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) as his nemesis, Don Revie. Both turn in very good performances, the latter in particular playing an understated role: more of a presence really, always in the background as Sheen’s Clough fights to make his mark on Revie’s legacy.
As a life-long Leeds fan, the events of this film have pretty much become part of folk lore for me. There are a number of factual inaccuracies within the movie, such as Clough being shown to leave the Brighton job before actually starting, when in reality he was manager for 32 games. And bringing up Revie’s England failure (though others would also fail at the job after him) and accusations of his financial irregularities (which were never proved) in the final reel left a bitter taste for me to what was otherwise a generally entertaining film.
– The Damned United is available on DVD and to watch on BBC iPlayer until Sunday 25th July.
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