First, a Serious Warning: This is a highly subjective biographical film. The publishers of the book on which the film is based were successfully sued for defamation by a player mentioned in the work and others would have similarly filed suit except they were deceased and estates cannot sue for slander or libel. This is not an autobiography; it is a drama based on a real person.
Now, the Review: The Damned United is about relationships. Relationships between coaches and players, coaches and management, coaches and the media, and coaches and their peers. Brian Clough experienced a great deal of success in a short period of time at Derby County and lost his focus. He permitted factors that contributed strongly to his success (productive relationships with players and his assistant) to lapse as he became distracted with extraneous ones (destructive relationships with media, the club’s the board of directors, and rival coach Don Revie).
The coach evolves over the course of the film, which chronicles his stints at Derby County and Leeds United. At first, he ecstatic to play Leeds United and personally cleans their dressing room so they will think that he manages a leading club. A perceived slight leads to a bitter rivalry with Leeds coach Revie which colours everything that Clough achieves.
According to history, Clough was an alcoholic and this film portrayed him as a man with severe anger control problems. When he got his first major opportunity at Leeds United, he lacked the attentional and emotional focus required at the elite level and was fired after forty-four days. Clough is still consumed by resentment for Revie and his relationship with players is combustible. They do not wish to play like professionals but Clough pours gasoline on the fire. Only at the end does he realize what has happened and personally evolves. At this point, the film ends but Clough’s story does not.
To his credit, Clough returned to the fundamentals that led to his success. He reconciled with assistant Peter Taylor, a keen talent scout and the calm balance to Clough’s intensity. The two moved to Nottingham Forest, winning what is now known as the Premier League and two European Cups. Unfortunately, the pair parted ways again and did not reunite before Taylor’s death in 1990. After a liver transplant, Clough died in 1994 of stomach cancer.
This is a superb story for coaches and critics. Coaches can watch a man transform his enthusiasm for the game into a Premiership crown for an underdog club only to fail horribly under the harsh glare of the spotlight before learning from his experience in order to reach greater heights. Critics can see a true tragic hero. Clough’s Hamartia is his arrogance, the Peripeteia is his downfall at Elland Road, and the Catharsis occurs when he begs his former assistant for forgiveness.
Any high performance coach should remind the athletes they coach, their peers, and themselves to remember what led to their initial success, self-evaluate after every competition, and not to get too carried away by either winning or losing. Of course, coaches should always treat each other with respect, even when positioned on opposing sidelines.
Since I wasn’t there, I can only say that The Damned United seems to accurately capture the atmosphere and settings of 1970s English football. The director incorporates actual video footage into the film seamlessly. I specifically appreciated how he used steady mid-angle close-ups to highlight the characters.
Although Brian Clough may have been brash and confident, he appears insecure when the background is fixed and the audience can see how his eyes and body language are shifting. Michael Sheen captured the role of young coach perfectly. He may say that he is the best coach in England but he seems to know that he doesn’t know everything. ****