October 23, 2009

At the Movies: Cocky coach comes to life in ‘Damned United'

You don't have to be a soccer expert, or even know all that much about the sport, to get sucked into the competing personalities and personal dramas of “The Damned United.”

THE DAMNED UNITED

Director: Tom Hooper Cast: Michael Sheen, Colm Meaney, Timothy Spall, Jim Broadbent Rating: R for language Running time: 98 minutes

Sure, it probably helps in terms of appreciating some of the details and nuances, especially if you're a fan of the British football depicted here. But director Tom Hooper doesn't actually include very much action on the field: “The Damned United” is more about the larger-than-life figures behind the scenes, mainly Brian Clough, the real-life manager of Leeds United for a brief and tumultuous period in 1974.

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Previous columns:

• At the Movies: ‘Couples Retreat' veers from silly to sappy, 10-09-2009
• At the Movies: 'Capitalism' may be Moore's most hopeful, 10-02-2009
• At the Movies: ‘Fame' update sticks to the tried and true, 09-25-2009
• At the Movies: The joke's on us with ‘The Informant!', 09-18-2009
• At the Movies: Mike Judge’s ‘Extract’ could use more flavor, 09-04-2009
• At the Movies: ‘World's Greatest Dad' a fearless comedy, 08-28-2009
• At the Movies: Tarantino's ‘Basterds' inspires, frustrates in equal measure, 08-21-2009
• Dramatic twists fuel sci-fi action film, 08-14-2009