Looking for Eric (2009)

Director:

Ken Loach

Writer:

Paul Laverty (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 May 2009 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Sport

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Television Set | Manchester United | Reference To Youtube | English Premier League | Mail Delivery

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Steve Evets	...	Eric Bishop
Eric Cantona	...	Eric
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
Max Beesley	...	Eric's Father (as Maxton Beesley)
Kelly Bowland	...	Ryan's Girlfriend
Julie Brown	...	Nurse
John Henshaw	...	Meatballs
Justin Moorhouse	...	Spleen

Also Known As:

Il mio amico Eric (Italy)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

UK | France | Italy | Belgium | Spain

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | Sweden:11 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:MA | Germany:12 | UK:15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:R16 | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Company:

Sixteen Films

Trivia:

John Henshaw, who plays a postal worker, is also one of the faces of the national Post Office in the UK.

heart warming

Don't believe a word of the hype. Looking for Eric is not a Ken Loach comedy. It is, in several places, a very funny film indeed. But it is not a comedy. At a far fetched push you might call it a rom-com or a social satire. Me? I just think it's another brilliant Loachian movie. (Can you believe he's been at it for 45, yes 45, years since he wrote three episodes for z cars)? It's so sad, so desperate in places and then, yes, so funny.

And then there's Eric (Cantona). Ooh ah! And his goals. Ooh la la! And his cod (sorry sardine) philosophising. Oops ah! The Cantona character is inspired, as it is so self-deprecating- not a quality one associates with the French.

I loved this film but why is it so good? I think it's the way Loach makes his characters so utterly believable and, particularly in this movie, sympathetic. And as I always, always say it's because of the writing which is nailed on by long time collaborator Paul Laverty).

One of the back stories, about the elder stepson of Eric the postman (our hero played to perfection by Steve Evets in, I think, his first Loach movie) is really the backbone of the film. The eldest stepson (Gerard Kearns of Shameless fame) gets embroiled in some nasty business with a local gangland thug and threatens to destabilise Eric's whole fragile existence. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and that is certainly proved here.

It's a gem. A true Brit movie classic with a wee bit of the Auld Alliance thrown in.

J'adore Eric Cantona!