Éric Cantona

Steve Evets

Stephanie Bishop

John Henshaw

Gerard Kearns

Stefan Gumbs

Lucy-Jo Hudson

Justin Moorhouse

Matthew McNulty

Smug Roberts

Mick Ferry

Max Beesley Snr

Steve Marsh

Ryan Pope

Cleveland Campbell

Laura Ainsworth

Julie Brown

Des Sharples

Greg Cook

Johnny Travis

Kelly Bowland

Adam Beresford

Paul Laverty

Ken Loach

Joachim Philippe

Chris Wanklin

Amaury Duquenne

Olly Driscoll

Joss Barratt

Carl Hudson

Jonathan Morris

Gerardo Herrero

Barry Ackroyd

George Fenton

Chris Laurence

Fergus Clegg

Tim Cole

Pascal Caucheteux

Vincent Maraval

Kahleen Crawford

Sarah Ryan

Ray Beckett

Drama

Comedy

Looking for Eric

Canto Bros. Production

Sixteen Films

Wild Bunch

Film4 Productions

France 2 Cinéma

BiM Distribuzione

Les Films du Fleuve

Tornasol Media

Alta Producción

United Kingdom

France

Italy

Belgium

Spain

CinemaSerf

One minute he is telling us about seagulls and sardines, the next he is acting as a glorified counsellor - and that's when he's not helping Manchester United to rule the roost in the English Premier League. Eric is a multi-talented fellow, which is just as well as he has quite a task. It's super-fan "Eric" (Steve Evets) who is part of a dyed-in-the-wool group of postmen-fans of the club who lives with his stepsons "Ryan" (Gerard Kearns) and "Jess" (Stefan Gumbs) who have little respect for the man. Things all start to come to an head when the gullible "Ryan" gets himself involved with local hoodlum "Zac" (Steve Marsh) who gets him to hide a gun under the floorboards. When this is found some home truths have to be shared between these men - truths that lead to violence, a police raid and then maybe the best example of group participation I've ever seen on screen. It's got many of Ken Loach's usual hallmark views on the typical working class, but they don't take front and centre as prominently as in many of his more political films. This one comes across as more a critique on the dynamics of a family, and a largely male one at that, of community and of the almost tribal attitudes and loyalties that passionate following of a football club can engender. Evets handles his role well, especially in his scenes with his footballing icon that appear shot in such a fashion as to look like they are in the same room, sharing a drink or a cigarette, but also looking like they are not. It's Kearns who steals the show for me, though - his performance is engagingly visceral and at times quite touching. There's some gritty humour to be had here, too, and a little dig at those who gentrified football with their 4x4s and their season tickets at the expense of the ordinary fans. It's blunt and brutal, sensitive, funny and worth a watch.

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