The Damned United (2009)

The Damned United is a tense, darkly comic character study that dramatizes Brian Clough’s explosive 44-day tenure as manager of Leeds United in 1974. Told through present-day sequences and flashbacks, the film follows Clough’s abrupt takeover of a club built by his rival Don Revie, his abrasive methods and outspoken contempt for the team’s “dirty” style, and the friction that quickly destroys any chance of acceptance. Interwoven are glimpses of Clough’s earlier partnership with Peter Taylor and his hard-won success at Derby County, which help explain both his appetite for vindication and the loneliness behind his swagger. Watching the movie you’ll get a mix of on-pitch football intensity and backstage psychological drama: charged locker-room confrontations, sharp, witty dialogue, and moments of quiet vulnerability that reveal the cost of ego and ambition. The film balances sports action with a portrait of obsession, rivalry and regret, delivering both bitter humor and melancholy. If you enjoy character-driven biopics and sports dramas that focus less on trophies and more on the personalities and consequences behind them, The Damned United offers a compelling, dramatically staged take on one of English football’s most controversial episodes.

Actors: Colm Meaney, Henry Goodman, David Roper

Director: Tom Hooper

Runtime: 98 min

Genres: Biography, Drama, Sport

6.9 /10 81 /100 7.5 /10 7.5 /10