Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The Damned United is probably the best film about soccer/European Football out there. That being said, this movie isn't just a sports movie or bromance, but it also qualifies as a dramatic gem. Tom Hooper, director of the King's Speech and Les Misérables, takes helm of this small independent film, and Peter Morgan, writer of The Last King of Scotland and Rush, pens the script. Both come together and give it absolute quality. The story's main character is the cocky and arrogant, yet undoubtedly talented Brian Clough (Michael Sheen). It shows his 44-day reign as the coach of Leeds United, one of the top clubs in England, and has flashbacks of how he got there. Clough made his name prior to taking the helm at Leeds by bringing glory to their rivals Derby County. Clough takes the reins from a person he hates, celebrated coach Don Revie (Colm Meaney), who has decided to end his reign to take the job as England manager. The film goes back and forth between Clough's rough time alone at Leeds and the successful time he had, with his assistant coach Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall), at Derby. The film strongly depicts a relationship between closest friends and dearest rivals. It is one that will probably not show up on most people's radars, but if it pops up should never be missed. The end product is something special. And given its topic and indie status, it pleasantly surprises and is something all can enjoy and learn from.

This was a very good film, probably one of my favourite films of all time. When I watched this film, I was of course aware of Brian Clough and Don Revie but I had no real prior knowledge of their rivalry, nor the exploits of Clough at Leeds United but this did not hinder my enjoyment of this piece.To have Michael Sheen as Brian Clough was a superb casting decision, he portrayed Clough brilliantly throughout the film. Timothy Spall did a great job playing Brian Clough's long-suffering assistant Peter Taylor. The two actors were not only great as individuals but as a duo they worked very well together in this film.I would highly recommend this film to any football fan but even if you are not really interested in the sport 'The Damned United' is a very good piece of drama that is definitely worth a watch.

Michael Sheen in another bio and what a magnificent character he gets to play this time. However, if you are not a fan of him, stay away because he is on screen every minute of the "damned" thing.It was written with him in mind and while I was enjoying his performance on screen, I could not help but feel left out on something. Then it struck me, there is virtually no believable reaction to this enormously unsympathetic character, except at that crucial moment in Brighton.The story involves his hatred of the Leeds team and we are basically left with him ranting and raving about this hatred in the scenes in 1974. I would have liked a little more background on the relationship between he and the players at Leeds, because you know there must have been more to it then what is shown.Instead, the main focus is on the Taylor/Clough relationship, which although nice, is kind of something you have seen over and over again.This is not a bad film by any means, but it wasn't that fulfilling as I would have thought, and that last scene is really dragged out endlessly. Bromance comedies are all the rage now, but I thought that the last scene could have worked just as well without that dialogue. Sorry, it made me kind of sick.

Brian Clough was an enigma: a man whose record as a football manager was (given the resources at his disposal) second to none, but who relied on his assistant Peter Taylor to spot players, had no great technical expertise and whose approach to man management was decidedly eccentric. He was brilliantly quick minded but also an alcoholic; a supposed socialist who was accused of taking unauthorised commissions on transactions; and a man who went to Leeds United, a club he hated, and was famously sacked in just 44 days. David Peace's ambitious novel, 'The Damned United', offers one imaginative take on Clough's psychology during this period; but as a film, it's a poor effort. Michael Sheen, Tony Blair in a number of other screenplays by writer Pter Morgan, doesn't quite convince as Clough, and makes him seen more like a blustering fool than an intelligent man. Of course, that famous Graham Taylor documentary may have punctured our illusions about so-called football genius; but still, I was looking for some clue as to what Clough did well (except, of course, at Leeds) and didn't get it. Bad wigs abound. And Clough's complex relationship with Taylor is reduced to a piece of routine male bonding, with Tomothy Spall playing Talor as a man with the charisma of a lead balloon and whose importance to Clough remains totally mystifying. From Peace's book, one gets a view of a talented and ambitious man who over-reached himself, an unique individual both arrogant and exposed. This translation lacks the depth; and sadly, therefore, also the point.