Brits love soccer, at times to an unhealthy degree. They love it so much that they have been known to kill, maim and disembowel each other in the name of football—and that is just the fans. The coaches and players, if anything, are even more vile, vicious and vitriolic, as shown in ""The Damned United,"" a biopic of former English Premier League coach Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) and the lead-up to his disastrous 44-day stint as head coach of league juggernaut Leeds United.
The best description of Clough's character easily comes from actor Jim Broadbent as Derby County chairman Sam Longson, who describes Clough as a ""cocky little twat."" ""The Damned United"" follows Clough as he rises to fame as the manager of league doormat Derby County, all the while harboring an unhealthy and borderline sociopathic grudge against Leeds United manager Don Revie (Colm Meaney). Clough is accompanied by his softspoken assistant Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall, who continues his pattern of playing the sidekick to malicious evil bastards). Throughout the film, Clough is depicted as nothing less than a despicable man who is the physical embodiment of envy, willing to throw anything in his life aside merely to upstage Revie.
Sheen is excellently cast as Clough, a role that finally gives him the opportunity to take the spotlight in a film and deliver a big, showy performance. While he has been given noteworthy parts before in films like ""The Queen"" and ""Frost/Nixon,"" it seems like Sheen has always been upstaged by powerhouse performances from the likes of Helen Mirren and Frank Langella (who both won countless awards while Sheen was relegated to the sidelines). ""The Damned United,"" on the other hand, gives Sheen a chance to get as histrionic as he wants as the flamboyant and volatile football manager, and his performance drives the entire film.
It is a good thing that ""The Damned United"" has such an excellent performance to anchor it, as the story surrounding Clough's crazed antics is incredibly weak. For a story about coaching, remarkably little actual coaching is shown. As far as screenwriter and frequent Sheen collaborator Peter Morgan is concerned, apparently Clough and Taylor simply signed one or two good players then rocketed to the top of the points standings. There is never a moment when Clough exhibits any advanced football coaching ability. In ""Miracle,"" they show how Herb Brooks conditioned his team to be the best. In ""Hoosiers,"" Norman Dale actually calls some plays. In ""The Damned United,"" Clough just stands around with Michael Sheen's giant marmoset eyes and glares at people.
The film lacks a focus on actual coaching and instead concentrates on the relationships between Clough, Taylor and Levie, and unfortunately they are all entirely clichéd. ""The Damned United"" tries to claim the entire Clough-Levie rivalry began when Levie refused to shake Clough's hand after a match, which seems like a massive oversimplification. As for Clough and Taylor, that turns into an overdone buddy-movie relationship, complete with a bland emotional break-up and make-up.
Thankfully, Sheen does not let any of these tried plot devices hamper the force of nature that is his performance. If there is any defining feature of a great actor, it is the ability to save a bad film, and with ""The Damned United,"" Sheen has done just that.
