When a movie opens with a strong, stand-alone line, it becomes sort of like the film’s thesis. A line like this establishes the essence of a film before we know anything about it. In “Slumdog Millionaire” we had “It is written,” followed by Jamal Malik fulfilling his destiny. In “Juno,” “It all started with a chair,” and the “it” was a pregnancy that spanned the course of the film.
Ken Loach’s film “Looking for Eric” opens with the line, “It all began with a beautiful pass.” Unfortunately, the film strays just far enough away from this point that it’s practically forgotten by the time it comes up again. The film’s rocky plot structure diminishes the power of some strong acting performances, and the poignant message about the power of teammates is overshadowed by guns, gangs and trained attack dogs.
Eric Bishop is a scrawny, middle-aged postman who lives in Manchester, England, and looks as if he’s trapped in that moment before a teenage boy grows into a man. The hangdog expressions and boyish imaginings of being just like his soccer hero, Eric Cantona, make Bishop seem like a lost puppy and the thought of Cantona like a good belly scratch.
But we’re quickly shown that Bishop has lost control over his life, and Cantona is more like the only thing between him and a lifetime at the pound. From the moment he left his first wife and daughter more than 20 years ago to his current attempt to raise two stepsons who act as if he’s not even there, Cantona is Bishop’s only constant while the rest of his life is a downward spiral.
The extent of his descent is shown after a hilarious meditation session led by his well-intentioned friend Meatballs. His friends and co-workers discover his closet filled with undelivered mail, and suddenly the absurdity of mailmen trying to figure out how to say “om” during yoga is shattered by the realization that Bishop is teetering on the edge. The emotional punch of watching the letters pour out onto the floor is cinema at its best.
It’s at this point that Eric Cantona comes in, literally. As Bishop takes a puff of a joint he swiped from his stepson’s stash, in walks Cantona. The full significance of having Bishop’s hero suddenly appear in his bedroom is clear. It means that a) the drugs are working and b) now he has a manifestation of his subconscious in the form of his soccer idol to discuss his problems with. But as far as the importance of it being Cantona? Not as clear.
This is the first issue in “Looking for Eric.” While Cantona may be an integral part of British culture, the frequent hallucinations of the soccer star don’t translate nearly as strongly to an audience who has no idea who he is. Without knowing his background as a powerhouse who revived the Manchester United Football Club, he just seems like a man with a thick French accent and a lot of strange proverbs. Little do most of us know, Cantona is responsible for the most famous proverb in British football history after he kung-fu kicked a fan in the face.
Fortunately for the film, Cantona is able to help Bishop navigate the increasingly unbalanced plot structure. Bishop’s attempts at a second chance with his first wife are increasingly drowned out by his stepson’s gang-like affiliations. It’s as if “It’s Complicated” was infiltrated by “Boyz n the Hood” and the entire film takes a half-hour detour as the sons and their father deal with shootings, arrests and humiliation by way of YouTube.
But Cantona’s words of wisdom, not to mention his uncanny ability to appear whenever Bishop is getting philosophical with his joint, inspire action and personal growth, and act as at least one continuous plot device that holds the story together. He also helps Bishop realize that his strength comes from those who support him ““ his teammates, a message that is weakly alluded to and, fortunately, fully embraced by the end of the film.
The final climax features the strongest and most entertaining characters in the film ““ Bishop’s friends, coworkers and fellow soccer fans ““ in a thoroughly enjoyable and inspiring scene of destruction and loyalty. It left me wishing that these characters had been given more screen time and just about everything else had been cut down to the bare minimum.
Instead, what we’re left with is two very different movies fighting for space in the same reel, only one of which is worth the one hour and 56 minutes.
E-mail Suchland at ssuchland@media.ucla.edu.