Steineded How sad is this?

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

pratheek nappady Its a sweet, simple, feel good movie interspersed with a lot of funny scenes. You should know something about Cantona and what he meant to United fans to keep up with the narrative, also it helps if you don't despise the man or the club. The movie is at times rather slow paced and drags a little but not so much as to put u off. I've seen the movie twice now and enjoyed it both the times. It shows a different side of england. A side devoid of any glamor or glitz. The movie portrays the huge role football plays in England's culture. Even though it falls under the genre of fantasy there is something so real about this movie. Probably in the way it shows its characters and their life. In a nutshell its a movie about a common man seeking redemption for past mistakes and standing up for his family.

beewise oooh aaaah Cantona.... OK - middle aged woman fantasy he maybe - but not for me except in the footballing sense! lol - as a Chelsea fan at the time of his greatness even I was totally enthralled by this man's footballing prowess. He was special. Even before the Special One... Then this film comes along - and wow - he can act - and the part he plays - well! WOW! Amazing - it's all you'd ever want in a best friend. It's even got romance (not too yucky - but maybe a bit too much for men who've had a similar experience like Eric the Postman and for whom there is no going back...) But, all in all a totally wonderful film. And, to end in a footballing vein, who is out there in now that is, as this man was? Absolutely no-one. More's the pity. (Cue seagulls...)

druid333-2 I have been an fan of the films of Ken Loach since I saw 'Hidden Agenda' some years back. In the years since he first directed films for television,working up to his first feature film,'Poor Cow',up until recent,he has painted a portrait of the English blue collar working class,most times unvarnished (they live their day by day lives,drink, smoke,swear a lot,and are sometimes brutal,unflinchingly,but generally never demonize them). In this tale,a middle aged man,Eric Bishop,is at the lowest point of his existence. His ex wife wants next to nothing to do with him (he walked out on his marriage early on),and his two sons (one adopted)are a stranger to him. About all he has is his football chums that he spends most of his time in pubs,arguing football,etc. to call his own. One night after sneaking some of his son's Marijuana,Eric is sitting in his room in a depressed gloom,wondering what went wrong with his life,when he gets a visit from the kindred spirit of French born footballer,Eric Cantona (Eric's hero,as exemplified by the posters of Cantona in the bedroom),giving Eric advice on how to get his life back in check. Heeding Cantona's advice,Eric sets about to make amends for his short comings (including a sub plot element involving his eldest son Ryan,who is hanging out with gangsters who make Ryan hold onto a gun used in a shooting). Will Eric Bishop clean up his act,become the father he is supposed to be to his sons,and try to reconcile with his wife? That is for you,the audience to find out. Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes The Barley,Hidden Agenda,and way too many to list here)directs from a screenplay written by Paul Laverty (who wrote the screenplay for 'Barley',as well as 'My Name Is Joe',also directed by Loach). Featuring Steve Evets as Eric Bishop,Eric Cantona as himself,Stephanie Bishop as his wife Lily,Gerald Kearns as Ryan,and Stefan Gumbs as Jess,Eric's other son. With Matthew McNulty,Laura Ainsworth,Max Beesley,Kelly Bowland & John Henshaw. A flawed,but crowd pleasing,life affirming comedy/drama about finding one's own niche later in life. Not rated by the MPAA,this film serves up pervasive strong language,adult content,including drug references & some harrowing confrontations for our protagonist.

bob the moo Postman Eric is pretty much at the end of his tether. His partner has not come back home despite her being released from prison over two months ago, leaving him looking after two teenage stepsons, neither of whom respect him or listen to him and appear to be heading down the wrong road in life. His own daughter Sam needs help with her own daughter and asks Eric to get in touch with her mother Lily, who Eric left as a young single mother. The pressures from all sides are clear to even his colleagues, who to their credit do attempt to help him. Rather than talk to himself, Eric confides in a poster of his idol, Eric Cantona only to find that the man himself appears in his room. With sage input from Cantona, Eric attempts to put his life in order while the external forces threaten to tear it apart.A strange film from Ken Loach this and one that doesn't ever really work as well as certain parts of it do or as well as the idea makes it sound like it should. As a film it is rather fragmented both in terms of tone and narrative and it is shame that the two could not have been brought together in a more effective manner. The first half of the film spends its time mostly focused very much on the mental state of Eric and, although some have said this part is dull I actually found it to be pretty engaging and clever. The importance of sport in the world of men (particularly working class men – sorry if that sounds snobby) should not be overlooked and I thought that the film had potential by using Cantona as a sounding board for Eric to work out his problems in a way that is made easier by virtue of his idol taking him mentally into that world where it is OK to let it all out, OK to cry, OK to be oneself – the world of the terraces as he describes them. This doesn't really happen though although it is close enough to that to keep it interesting and the passion of the football discussions does add a nice contrast to the reality of Eric's life.In the second half of the film a discovery starts a specific dramatic thread and it makes for a sudden change in the tone of the film – one that is most noticeable because the script becomes the F word for long sections. This rather gritty and violent dose of reality clashes with the fantasy of the first half and, while they are still linked I didn't think that they were linked well enough in terms of the tone and feel of the film. It is a shame because the second half does work and it does lead to a rather uplifting conclusion but even this doesn't quite fit into the thread that it concludes. I'm not describing it very well but the overall impression I'm trying to land is that the film has plenty of good ideas and isn't "bad" so much as it just has a lot of potential that goes unrealised.Cantona may be the name that draws the eye but Evets does very well in the lead role. He makes a very convincing character with all of his performance and if the material had been there with him, his performance would have been a big part of the film being consistent – as it is he cannot do it alone. Cantona is an enigmatic presence and, although hard to understand sometimes, this is what he brings to the film and he works very well with Evets as the solid, thoughtful sounding board of reason – again the material just doesn't seem to let their scenes have the meaning and impact that they could have done. The supporting cast are understandably outside of the main scenes but there are still good performances from Bishop, Kearns, Gumbs, Hudson as well as older hands like Henshaw and a few others.Overall Looking for Eric is an engaging but frustrating experience. It is engaging because of the potential inherent in the ideas and the narrative, however it is also frustrating because not all that potential is realised and the delivery seems disjointed and rather uneven in terms of tone and substance. Interesting enough and good enough to take a look but it is not the film it deserved to be and is not one of Loach's or Laverty's better films.