Looking for Eric

This film is about a football fan who faces many difficulties in various aspects in his life. He gets a lot of help from an unlikely and imaginary hero. I heard "Looking for Eric" is funny and is really good, but unfortunately I cannot agree. The story is confusing, and it is not helped by the northern accent which I cannot comprehend at all. As a result, I constantly have no idea what is going on. Though the film is down to earth and unpretentious about every day life, this does not help with building empathy and connection with the viewers. I cannot feel for any of the characters. I was bored and confused throughout the film, and in fact I am still looking for what it is about.

Being an armchair Manchester United fan now for almost 20 years i had a lot of interest in seeing Ken Loachs' film when i first got wind of it.The presence of Eric Cantona still looms large over Old Trafford and indeed fans still sing his name to this day.In a way,watching Looking For Eric made me fall in love with Cantona and Manchester United all over again. This film does what all good fantasy films should do , it makes you feel good. We start the film with our central character in the depths of unhapiness and witness a transformation,thanks to life coaching by Eric Cantona (watch out Paul McKenna) . Cantona is a man with undeniable presence.Those who might sneer and scoff at his attempts to break in to the film world will be made to eat their words as Cantona brings every ounce of mysticism and humanity to his performance. It's true that it pays to know about Cantona and the impression he made upon the English game of football. In all the years since he has left the game, no one has quite replicated what he achieved. He will be remembered by Manchester United fans alongside greats like Best and Charlton and now also by movie fans for a touching and memorable performance in a film that deserves high praise.

This could have been an excellent film; it had plenty of good acting, and the farce of having Cantona appear as a philosophical life coach was great (he did a fine job). But the script, otherwise, was SO canned, so superficial, so predictable, like so much that is on British TV and film. There was no real flow to the film, just a lot of jerking around. Throwing in dog-food adverts occasionally would have helped. The final 15 minutes, as commented earlier, is totally pasted-on crap, the scene at the mobster's house, the happy reunion with photos & suede shoes. Barf. 4/10 is generous here. This was really garbage.

This is a story of shame, friendship, family, forgiveness, football & two Erics. I was fortunate enough to watch an advanced screening yesterday. Unless, you've got a serious hatred of anything Manchester United, you'll enjoy this movie. As a United fangirl (circa '96), I enjoyed the old clips of King Eric in action & the conversations the men had about football, reminded me why I loved "the beautiful game" in the first place. The acting was top-notch, although my friend believed that the actor, who played Jess, was the weak link. There were definitely a lot of laughs (plus some teary* bits) in this movie, including the above quote, which had me in fits. Plus, I'll never see a chicken in the same way again. *Hey, I said teary, not crying, unless you're really a big softie.

This was a surprising film, with an unusual narrative structure. It is not at all about football, although there are many great goals. And the legendary Cantona does figure prominently, so fans will not be disappointed. Rather the film is about a lonely Manchester postman in his forties, a dysfunctional family, and how they all go about rebuilding their lives. Enough said, as if you knew too much about the plot, it would take some of the pleasure out. The action is cathartic. The meanies get their upstarts. And the family seems to be on the road to a better life by the close. The film also got quite a few laughs in the Paris cinema where I saw it. I actually know a startlingly similar dysfunctional family (in France), also with problems related to drugs. In real life, it is no laugh. The film won the Ecumenical prize at Cannes 2009, with the judges citing its great artistic quality and it's humour, optimism and humanism. It does that by portraying values such as friendship and family. Cantona epitomises in one sentence the solidarity: 'My best piece of football I remember is not a goal but a pass' ". Warning: even native speakers of UK English would have to concentrate very hard to understand all the dialogue, if not from Manchester. And yes, the plebs do actually speak like this. Subtitles might be useful. But you could just let the film flow over you.

I found this film extremely good fun. The plot was a little surreal, but it held you. The acting was excellent and there were lots of laughs. Cantona acquits himself perfectly respectably. As usual with Ken Loach, there was a bleaker side to the fun and the realities of ordinary people's lives were not glossed over or "prettied up". As is also the case with Loach films, one had the sensation that this was not being "acted" by professional luvvies, but conveyed with sincerity. This must be extremely difficult to achieve and I am full of admiration for the skill involved. Manchester United fans and other football followers will enjoy some of the documentary footage. But this is not just a film for football enthusiasts. I thoroughly recommend it.

Being a great admirer of Ken Loach, I'm sorry to say that this may be his first failure. The film is about the postman, who drinks too much, uses pot, get no respect from his stepsons and misses his old love very much. Then, Eric Cantona turns up, out of a poster, and becomes the postman's life coach. This kind of Deus Ex Machina has never functioned outside the baroque operas and doesn't do so this time either. What could have been a movie about working class solidarity, which Loach has done before in such a trustworthy way, becomes a fairytale and not a comforting one. A disappointment.

I've just been to see an advance screening of this film, without really knowing what it was about, other than obviously Eric Cantona would be in it. I'll admit from the outset that I am a Manchester United fan and was looking forward to seeing Eric on screen. It would have been worth it if only to see some of his goals again. I won't say too much about what the film was about for risk of spoiling it, because you should see it for yourself. It is filmed and based around Manchester and follows the life of a postman. At times it's sad, amusing and hilarious. The characters are extremely well played by actors both known and unknown and the audience should be able to identify with them easily. I would tip this to be big and hope it does well at the box office.

I'm a huge fan of Ken Loach, but LOOKING FOR ERIC felt forced (and a bit 'rang-in', performance wise) I'm fully aware that Loach was going for a more fantasy approach with this movie. But when nothing at all 'rings true' how are we supposed to know where the fantasy begins, and what makes it so fantastical in the first place (i'd sooner believe that Eric Cantona could appear from nowhere to dispense advice.....over thinking that a bit of red paint and a few smashed television sets, would deter a local crime boss from seeking any kind of retribution?) And none of this would matter of course, unless we weren't discussing a movie from the master of realism himself, Ken Loach. Now don't get me wrong, Loach has had enough solid gold 'hits', to forgive him of a 'miss' now and then....but sadly it seems that this movie (despite easily being his worst) will probably turn out to be his most profitable? The one thing that annoyed me the most, was the humour (or lack of) because most Loach movies (however bleak) usually contain a high amount of (sly) humour underneath proceedings. LOOKING FOR ERIC however, tried too hard, and settled for scenes of random swearing and shouting, over an actual ounce of anything 'natural' The ending (however 'far-fetched' the plot synopsis was already) was completely unbelievable (and felt tacked-on) but i suppose the subject matter (football....which i hate) and the 'lighter-touch' is what granted LOOKING FOR ERIC a cinema release at all. Multiplex-goers are treated to past Loach themes, wrapped (rather badly) together as a 'Ken Loach' greatest hits package. But i expected more from the man who gave us CATHY COME HOME, KES, RIFF-RAFF, RAINING STONES, LADYBIRD LADYBIRD and THE NAVIGATORS. Oh yeah, plus it reminded me of SCULLY (am i the only one to think this?)

It is almost impossible to put into words how ghastly this film is. Pretentious, trite, fatuous, totally unengaging and appalling badly acted. It encapsulates all that is dismal and wrong about the British Film Industry. Steve Evets who plays the lead role is apparently only a part-time actor and it showed in his one-dimensional shallow performance. He wasn't helped by a script (if indeed there was anything as formal as a script) that veered ploddingly from melodramatic through sentimental before crashing into implausibility. I didn't help that it was so badly shot: I saw a screening of a digital print and it still looked like it had been filmed through a sock and lit by a candle. It is a mystery why this film has garnered such enthusiastic reviews in the UK. The only plausible reason is that the critics are unwilling to find fault with such an orgy of indulgent, pretentious, self-gratification when the instigator is the "great" Ken Loach.