Looking for Eric

I know it's Ken Loach and all, but I still had my doubts. A film about a miserable Manchester post man, getting through a rough patch in his life through an imaginary friendship with Eric Cantona. Hmmm. Well, it was a free screening so I gave it a go and...you know...it was actually pretty damn enjoyable.

The story is pretty simple. Eric the posty is stuck in a mega rut. Seven years have rushed by since his second wife left. Now he's stuck with two out-of-control step kids and can't stop thinking about his first wife, Lily. He smokes some pot and talks to a poster of legendary French footballer Eric Cantona and one day the big Frenchie speaks back. French Eric helps Eric the postie to take back control over his life. And what a mess he's in. The kids are involved with gun-slinging gangsters, his ex-wife can't stand him and he's on the verge of losing his friends. Will he get his shit together, save his kids and keep his job?

It's a really heart-warming film. I'm not a huge football fan, but it really doesn't matter. You relate to Eric on personal level, whether or not you get his constant references to Cantona goals. And the acting is excellent on all levels, with the exception of perhaps Monsieur Cantona himself. But, you know, he's allowed to be a bit dodgy. He's a football player, not an actor, and since he spends most of the film speaking in proverbs, it really doesn't matter.

Very sweet and highly recommended. 4 Niks out of 5.

"After his first training session in heaven, George Best, from his favourite right wing, turned the head of God who was filling in at left-back. I would love him to save me a place in his team - George Best that is, not God" Eric Cantona