ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

SCOTTISH screenwriter Paul Laverty and veteran director Ken Loach have created one of the most productive partnerships in British cinema over the past fifteen years. Their list of successes includes My Name Is Joe, Sweet Sixteen and Cannes Palme D'Or winner The Wind That Shakes The Barley.

Their latest collaboration, Looking For Eric, finds the duo in a more lighthearted mood as they chart the rebirth of a depressed postman through an imaginary friendship with the former Manchester United star, Eric Cantona.

Eric Bishop (Steve Evets) has been beaten down by life. His world is defined by regrets and a growing sense of despair. He still yearns for the love of his ex-wife. His house is little more than a hotel for his two stepsons.

Even good mates like the irrepressible Meatballs (John Henshaw) cannot dispel his feelings of doom and gloom. Everything changes when the great Eric Cantona suddenly appears, offering words of encouragement and urging him to get his life back on track.

Looking For Eric is extremely funny as Laverty extracts a lot of humour from the unlikely bond between the two Erics. The film does awkwardly stray into more conventional Loach territory and there are some jarring shifts in tone and content.

Strong writing and a great cast help keep the film coherent, and Cantona himself is a joy as he affectionately spoofs his own image declaring: " I am not a man...I am Cantona. "

Entertaining and surprisingly touching, Looking For Eric is a tonic and a welcome change of pace for the dream team of Loach and Laverty.

Nationwide release

Director: Ken Loach
Cast: Eric Cantona, Steve Evets, John Henshaw, Stephanie Bishop, Gerard Kearns, Stefan Gumbs
Screenwriter: Paul Laverty
Certificate: 15
Running time: 116 mins
Country: UK
Year: 2009

© Allan Hunter, 2009

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