Looking for Eric (2009)

Eric, a football fanatic postman whose life is descending into crisis, receives some life coaching from the famously philosophical Eric Cantona.

Director:

Ken Loach

Writer:

Paul Laverty (screenplay)

Stars:

Steve Evets, Eric Cantona, Stephanie Bishop

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Evets	...	Eric Bishop
Eric Cantona	...	Himself
Stephanie Bishop	...	Lily
Gerard Kearns	...	Ryan
Stefan Gumbs	...	Jess
Lucy-Jo Hudson	...	Sam
Cole Williams	...	Daisy
Dylan Williams	...	Daisy
Matthew McNulty	...	Young Eric
Laura Ainsworth	...	Young Lily
Maxton G. Beesley	...	Eric's Father (as Maxton Beesley)
Kelly Bowland	...	Ryan's Girlfriend
Julie Brown	...	Nurse
John Henshaw	...	Meatballs
Justin Moorhouse	...	Spleen

Storyline

Eric Bishop, a middle-aged postman working for the Manchester sorting office, is going through a dreadful crisis. For starters, his second life companion has not resurfaced although she was released from prison a few months ago. He is left alone with two stepsons to look after, which is no bed of roses since the two teens disrespect him and keep disobeying him. To make matters worse, Ryan, the older boy, fascinated by Zac, a dangerous gangster, has accepted to hide his gun in Eric's house. On the other hand, he is asked by Sam, his student daughter who has a newborn baby,to get back in touch with Lily, his separated wife. Now, Eric left her not long after she gave back to their daughter. As a result Eric panics... Having lost all his bearings, Eric Bishop soliloquizes face to the poster of his idol, another Eric, French footballer Eric Cantona, when the latter appears just like the genie out of Aladdin's lamp. Through a series of aphorisms peculiar to him, the footballer-philosopher ...

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Plot Keywords:

postman | gun | manchester | poster | gangster | 

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Taglines:

To win back the love of his life, Eric's going to need a little training.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Sport

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Details

Official Sites:

Diaphana [fr] Icon Film Distribution [uk]

Country:

UK France Italy Belgium Spain

Language:

English French

Release Date:

27 May 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Barátom, Eric

Filming Locations:

Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$6,743 (USA) (14 May 2010)

Gross:

$55,804 (USA) (25 June 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sixteen Films, Film Four, Canto Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The short film I Dream of Zinedine Zidane directed by Tim Gee precedes Looking for Eric at elected theaters. It also deals with one man's obsession with a footballer.

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Goofs

On the bus going to the raid, the clock reports 12:12. Then, the camera goes on the passengers. When back on the bus clock, it reports 12:38.

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Quotes

Unknown: God once said: "Leave your wi... you can change your wife, change your politics, change your religion. But never, never can you change your favourite football team!"

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Crazy Credits

Cantona is credited as "Lui-même" (himself).

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Kick-Ass/Death at a Funeral/The Joneses (2010)

User Reviews

Griity, realistic - fantasy

From 'Cathy Come Home' to 'Kes through to 'Raining Stones' to 'The Wind That Shakes The Barley' the constant element of a Ken Loach film is striking realism. Everything is so natural, so ordinary that you stop looking at a story unfold on a big screen but look out at life going on through a massive window in the corner of the cinema. People talk like real people talk not to advance a story but to say what they're thinking, they talk over each other, round each other and sometimes stumble over their words. Events don't take place in a neat progressive order – they just happen, the way life happens. And yet Loach still manages to construct and set out these moments and these characters to tell a coherent natural story with a beginning, middle and end. Even when making a fantasy about a middle-aged man and his imaginary friend he doesn't alter the realism and naturalism of his approach one little bit.

Eric Bishop (Steve Evets) is on the verge of a complete breakdown moving from depression to despair. He lives with his two stepsons who treat him with contempt and use his house as a doss-house for their mates. He is still haunted by his biggest regret in his life – walking out on Lily (Stephanie Bishop) his first wife and first love nearly thirty years earlier when their daughter was still a toddler. When that now grown up daughter approaches him to help with looking after her child he realises Lily is going to become a part of his life again and he is terrified of how to deal with it or indeed if he can. His friends see that he is falling apart and rally around and try to help but it is his idol Eric Cantona (Eric Cantona) who he turns to for advice on how to cope. Cantona isn't there of course, it's all in his head but you get the impression that Eric B. knows that and that that's not the point anyway. It helps.

Although this is not necessarily a comedy it has like all of Ken Loache's films some very funny moments and some very funny characters. It has some very brutal ones too. A gentle domestic scene is suddenly interrupted by a shocking and very noisy home invasion – Eric's stepsons get caught up with gangland killers – and Eric himself gets (very) publicly humiliated by that gang's leader. But at its heart this is a feel-good film and leaves you with a satisfied grin and a real sense of justice being done. – And Cantona is damn good too!