Tom Long Film Review: 'The Damned United' -- GRADE: B

Review: Polished 'United' scores as human-interest story

Some of the best sports films have little to do with sports.

Such is the case with "The Damned United," which is based on the true story of hotshot soccer manager Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) taking over the reins of his archrival, the perennial powerhouse Leeds United, when that team's longtime manager Don Revie (Colm Meany) left to take charge of the national team in the early 1970s.

You would think there'd be little excitement here for Yanks, who overwhelmingly don't give a farthing about British soccer. But director Tom Hooper ("John Adams") and screenwriter Peter Morgan ("The Queen," "Frost/Nixon"), working from David Peace's novel, spend very little time on the soccer field.

This is a movie about power and friendship, and how the two don't necessarily mix, and it mostly plays out between Clough and his longtime, in-the-shadows assistant, Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall).

The two are just getting started with an out-of-the-way soccer club when they first encounter the mighty Don Revie. Or almost encounter the man -- his team comes in and mashes theirs, and then he completely ignores Clough, himself a former soccer star.

Clough sets out to prove he's a better manager than Revie, and soon he's a champion. But he becomes so obsessed he eventually alienates Taylor, even though he wins the United job.

Sheen is a modern acting wonder. This is the third high-profile film he's done with writer Morgan, having played both Tony Blair and David Frost to perfection. He's just as seamless as the far different Clough.

"The Damned United" is a thoughtful and entertaining study on the perils of ambition that has little to do with soccer and a lot to do with being human. Well-played.

tlong@detnews.com (313) 222-8879