In 1997 Eric Cantona announced his shock retirement from football to concentrate on “acting and painting”. At that same time Ken Loach was best known for the boy-and-kestrel brilliance of Kes (1969), and was just releasing his latest working class opus My Name is Joe (1998). Now they have formed the strangest partnership of all, with this heart-warming little fable of hope.
Eric (Steve Evets) is a football mad postman whose life has descended into misery. Ignored by his unruly step-kids and dwelling on all of the “what ifs” that have passed him by, the story begins with his unsuccessful suicide attempt. Then, as with all of his best performances on the pitch, Eric Cantona appears from nowhere, in an attempt to coach Eric into getting the best results out of his spiralling life.
Looking for Eric is extremely funny, with Cantona and his self deprecating reprisal of the infamous “seagulls follow the trawler speech”, and Eric and his postie chums sharing a ridiculous Zen-like meditation session dictated from a Paul McKenna book.
But this being a Ken Loach film, there are also plenty of struggles. Eric is a very flawed man and many of his life decisions make you wonder if the apparently hallucinogenic appearance of Cantona is more than a jovial Jiminy Cricket, and something much darker in terms of his mental health.
It’s this balance that keeps the film interesting, as we’re never sure whether Eric’s tale is headed towards a tragic ending.
That said, when Loach throws in a completely misjudged police raid, coupled with a ridiculously OTT finale, it removes something from the intimate story of this man struggling to live up to life.
The actors are perfectly cast and deliver some wonderfully understated turns. Evets elicits sympathy without pity, and is a typical Loach everyman to root for. Cantona is more subdued than he ever was on the field, but no less effective as the angelic Red Devil.
[etRating value=“ 3”]
Eric (Steve Evets) is a football mad postman whose life has descended into misery. Ignored by his unruly step-kids and dwelling on all of the “what ifs” that have passed him by, the story begins with his unsuccessful suicide attempt. Then, as with all of his best performances on the pitch, Eric Cantona appears from nowhere, in an attempt to coach Eric into getting the best results out of his spiralling life.
Looking for Eric is extremely funny, with Cantona and his self deprecating reprisal of the infamous “seagulls follow the trawler speech”, and Eric and his postie chums sharing a ridiculous Zen-like meditation session dictated from a Paul McKenna book.
But this being a Ken Loach film, there are also plenty of struggles. Eric is a very flawed man and many of his life decisions make you wonder if the apparently hallucinogenic appearance of Cantona is more than a jovial Jiminy Cricket, and something much darker in terms of his mental health.
It’s this balance that keeps the film interesting, as we’re never sure whether Eric’s tale is headed towards a tragic ending.
That said, when Loach throws in a completely misjudged police raid, coupled with a ridiculously OTT finale, it removes something from the intimate story of this man struggling to live up to life.
The actors are perfectly cast and deliver some wonderfully understated turns. Evets elicits sympathy without pity, and is a typical Loach everyman to root for. Cantona is more subdued than he ever was on the field, but no less effective as the angelic Red Devil.
[etRating value=“ 3”]
