Review Movies: Looking for Eric | Ken Loach | Eric Cantona | Eric Bishop | smoking dope | lager | porn | Old Trafford

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The Review - AT THE MOVIES with DAN CARRIER
Published:11 June 2009

Ooh, ahh, it’s the actor Cantona!

LOOKING FOR ERIC
Directed by Ken Loach
Certificate U

IT has been a stressful few months for poor Eric Bishop. His colleagues at the Post Office have noticed his once sparky demeanour has long lost its shine.
It’s hardly surprising: his stepsons spend their time knocking around his house, eating the food he provides, smoking dope, drinking lager, watching porn and making a mess.
His sons are in trouble with local gangsters and poor Eric has to deal with it.
Then Lily, his first wife, reappears after 30 years, sending him into a spin.
There is no escape – he can’t afford to go to the football anymore as the prawn sandwich brigade take over Old Trafford, and he spends his evenings staring at the bottom of pints of lager.
But there is a saviour out there, and it comes in the form of an apparition. As his mental state goes from fragile to brittle to shattered, Eric Cantona appears in his bedroom to offer friendship, Gallic advice and some rather good discussions about football.
This latest offering from Kentish Town-based director Ken Loach is another incredible film to add to his already marvellous body of work.
While Steve Evets, who plays Eric Bishop, turns in a superb performance as the down-at-heel postman, he is certainly not alone. Every actor lights up the show with a battery of great lines and a story that engages from the moment poor Eric totals his car as he has a mental breakdown.
Eric Cantona’s onscreen presence might not be quite as enthralling as his time on the pitch, but the showman is still brilliantly believeable.
Loach has always got super performances from non-actors and so having Eric Cantona playing himself seems to be the perfect example of his realist ethos in film-making.

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