Peter Morgan is one of the few screenwriters who appears to have no ambitions to become a director, but whose scripts have such consistent themes that he practically qualifies as an auteur anyway. A typical Morgan script will dramatize a little-known footnote of ’70s history, and use that story as a springboard for pitting a cocky, callow, but likable young hero against a faded but still formidable legend. In The Queen, Tony Blair faced off against Queen Elizabeth; in The Last King of Scotland, a young doctor who had to square off against Idi Amin; and in Frost/Nixon... well, that one’s right there in the title. In his latest film, The Damned United (and it feels right to call it a Peter Morgan film, even though Tom Hooper directed it), the two main characters will be less familiar to North Americans than to Brits. The cocky hero this time is football manager Brian Clough (Michael Sheen), whose leadership transformed Derby County from a laughingstock to contenders for the First Division title. His rival is Don Revie, the beloved manager of Leeds United, whose brutal style of play made them the dominant force in British football in the early ’70s. He also snubbed Clough during their first match against each other, and Clough has dreamed of revenge ever since. And so, when he’s hired as Revie’s replacement, Clough is more interested in repudiating Revie’s legacy than in winning games, or endearing himself to his new team.
And so the stage is set for one of the great fiascos in the history of British sport. Clough lasted a mere 44 days as Leeds’ manager before his poisonous relationship with his players and the Leeds fans resulted in his ouster... and cost him not just his friendship with his invaluable right-hand man, Peter Taylor but almost his entire sports career.
You don’t have to know anything about British football — God knows I sure don’t — to enjoy The Damned United. Morgan has always been more interested in character than setting, and he makes the film less a sports story than a study in bad management techniques. Michael Sheen, Morgan’s favourite leading man, is terrific as usual, especially in the scenes where Clough’s blinkered overconfidence gets the better of him. And with Timothy Spall as Peter Taylor, Colm Meaney as Don Revie, and Jim Broadbent as Derby’s tightwad team owner, the cast is practically an all-star team of ruddy-faced Irish and British character actors. Minor, but very entertaining.
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