Ken Loach’s ‘Looking for Eric’ is different. It’s a drama about a man rebuilding his life, but it’s optimistic, warm-hearted and funny. It’s a British film about football fans, yet it’s about the game uniting friends and family, never falling into gritty clichés. The film is as much about football as it is family, as much about Cantona as it is about second chances at life. An ex-footballer even puts in a performance of genuine subtlety. Loach has managed a rare feat with ‘Looking for Eric’ and created a film founded in realism just as much as it is in hope.

‘Flawed genius, eh? Flawed postman’

The film centers around Eric Bishop (Steve Evets), a postman who has found himself sleepwalking through a life he has lost control of. Left with two troubled step-children, estranged from the woman he loves after running away from her and their new born baby twenty years ago, detached from his friends and unable to afford tickets to see his beloved Manchester United. In his darkest hour he wonders if his hero, Eric Cantona, ever considers killing himself. And in Eric’s heart and mind, the former Man United No.7 answers back. Through metaphors, trumpet playing, smoking weed and a familiar old warm up routine, the imaginary Eric helps the real Eric slowly rebuild himself and attempt to reclaim the life he has let slip by.

After all these years Cantona has finally found a role that he can make his own; himself. Or at least an imaginary version of himself. It was always clear what a strong, enigmatic character he was, whether on the pitch with his collar up and chest out or in a press conference sipping water before dispensing seagull metaphors. He brings that same intensity to the film in an understated, self-deprecating performance filled with humour and warmth. The rest of the cast anchor the film with excellent work of their own in a real team effort. The relatively unknown Evets in particular puts in an outstanding performance in the leading role. Sincere, believable and sympathetic, you root for him to the end.

Looking for Eric is surreal, yet beautifully grounded.

Football is a part of the films’ world without dominating it; a passion shared amongst the characters, captured perfectly in arguments about FC United in the pub and coach trips to away games. Scenes of Cantona’s greatest moments on the pitch flit in and out of the film almost ethereally, like the Frenchman himself. More memories than video clips, they’re spoken of with a genuine passion and fondness that are identifiable even to those who aren’t fans of Man United or even football. True or not, one scene in which the two Eric’s discuss Cantona’s favourite moment of his career hits home with a beautiful message that transcends the sport, before playing out with a wonderfully surreal, serene trumpet solo from the football legend. One man playing his own tune.

At the End of the Day...

It’s the relationships that are at the heart of ‘Looking for Eric’, when at its heaviest and most tense or its most optimistic and light hearted, the story is played with honesty and a sense of humour that never falters, just like Eric’s friends ensuring there is always a ray of sunshine to break through the clouds of his life. As Cantona puts it, “You have to trust your teammates always. Otherwise you will be lost”.

Looking for Eric is out now on DVD and Blu-Ray, and we thoroughly recommend it. Watch a clip here, and win a copy othe 2 disc  special edition DVD in our competition.