Football drama starring Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall. After guiding Leeds United to the First Division title in 1974, Don Revie leaves Elland Road to become manager of England. In a surprise move, the Leeds board turns to outspoken coach Brian Clough as his replacement. But it proves to be a short-lived and bitter experience for all involved.
Director Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) gleefully re-creates the hairy, fag-smoking, pre-Premiership days of English club football in telling the story of manager Brian Clough's unhappy 44-day tenure at Leeds United in 1974. Michael Sheen follows up Frost/Nixon with another pitch-perfect performance, showing how the arrogant, outspoken, grudge-fuelled Clough took on the club, its players, fans and revered former manager Don Revie (a well-cast Colm Meaney). In adapting David Peace's dense novel, Peter Morgan (The Queen) lightens the tone and (mercifully) keeps the footballing action to a minimum, focusing on what happens in the dugout, the boardroom and behind the weatherbeaten façade of Elland Road. This slice of recent British history might not rival the death of Princess Diana, but Morgan is a master at creating drama out of mundane detail and, with Timothy Spall providing respite from the bombast as Clough's right-hand man, Peter Taylor, this is a stirring, tragicomic portrait of one of football's greatest characters.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Brian Clough | Michael Sheen |
| Peter Taylor | Timothy Spall |
| Don Revie | Colm Meaney |
| Sam Longson | Jim Broadbent |
| Manny Cussins | Henry Goodman |
| Jimmy Gordon | Maurice Roëves |
| Billy Bremner | Stephen Graham |
| John O'Hare | Martin Compston |
| Dave Mackay | Brian McCardie |
| Johnny Giles | Peter McDonald |
| Duncan McKenzie | Joseph Dempsie |
| Austin Mitchell | Mark Bazeley |
| Barbara Clough | Elizabeth Carling |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Tom Hooper |
