Looking for Eric
| Looking for Eric | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Ken Loach |
| Produced by | Rebecca O'Brien |
| Written by | Paul Laverty |
| Screenplay by | Paul Laverty |
| Starring |
Eric Cantona Steve Evets Lucy-Jo Hudson Matthew McNulty Gerard Kearns Stephanie Bishop John Henshaw Stefan Gumbs |
| Music by | Band The Emperors of Rhythm |
| Cinematography | Barry Ackroyd |
| Edited by | Jonathan Morris |
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Production
company |
Wild Bunch
Film4 Productions |
| Distributed by | Icon Film Distribution |
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Release date
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Running time
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116 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom France Belgium Italy Spain |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £4m |
| Box office | $11,546,932 |
Looking for Eric is a 2009 British-French film about the escape from the trials of modern life that football and its heroes can bring for its fans. It was written by screen writer Paul Laverty and directed by the English director Ken Loach. The film's cast includes the former professional footballer Eric Cantona and the former bass guitarist with The Fall, Steve Evets.
Loach said of the film, "We wanted to deflate the idea of celebrities as more than human. And we wanted to make a film that was enjoying the idea of what you and I would call solidarity, but what others would call support for your friends really, and the old idea that we are stronger as a team than we are as individuals."
Eric Bishop is a football fanatic postman whose life is descending into crisis. Looking after his granddaughter is bringing him into contact with his ex-wife, Lily, whom he abandoned after the birth of their daughter. At the same time, his stepson Ryan is hiding a gun under the floorboards of his bedroom for a violent drugs baron. At his lowest moments Bishop considers suicide. But after a short meditation session with fellow postmen in his living room, and smoking cannabis stolen from his stepson, hallucinations bring forth his footballing hero, the famously philosophical Eric Cantona, who gives him advice. His relationship with Lily improves dramatically. Bishop finds the gun and confronts his stepson. Ryan admits to his involvement with the drugs gang, and Bishop attempts to return the gun to the gangster. He is forced to keep it himself, however, when a Rottweiler is set on him in his car. The gangster then posts footage on YouTube of Bishop's humiliation. The entire family is then arrested by the police on a tip-off but they fail to find the gun as it is hidden in the fridge, under a chicken. Eric Cantona then advises Bishop to seek help from his friends and to 'surprise' himself. Bishop organises 'Operation Cantona', sneaking dozens of fellow Manchester United fans – wearing Cantona masks – into the gangster's house and humiliating him and his family, threatening to put the video of their operation onto YouTube, in turn. The film ends at Bishop's daughter's graduation day, where the family re-unites in peace.
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Wikipedia