Starring: Steve Evets, Eric Cantona, Stephanie Bishop Director: Ken Loach Category: IIB
Despairing working-class men stuck in mundane jobs, messy homes and ceaseless bonding sessions at the local pub; failed marriages that spawned single parents and dysfunctional intergenerational relationships; listless youngsters peddling dodgy money-making schemes and drifting ever nearer to outright crime.
So far, so familiar: Looking for Eric ticks all the boxes for a Ken Loach project. The film even begins in the grimmest way, with its protagonist, miserable postman Eric Bishop (Steve Evets), revving his beaten-up sedan around a roundabout, a walking car crash seemingly seeking a real one.
Appearances deceive, however, and Looking for Eric is a far cry from Loach's characteristic social-realist dramas: key scenes involve Bishop's hashish-induced hallucinations of his idol, former Manchester United footballer Eric Cantona (above right, with Evets), emerging from the posters on his wall to offer philosophical nuggets of wisdom. Even more unusual is the film's upward trajectory towards a bright future: beyond the anguish of the first reel, Bishop's lot only gets better, as Cantona's appearance re-energises him and reshapes the film into heartening, feelgood fun.
Yes, Looking for Eric is a very funny film, brimming with comical moments that should make it easily the most accessible piece Loach has done in ages. Objections may certainly be raised at the director's near-simplistic optimism towards the brotherly bonds of the working class, but the characters are engaging enough to paper over the cracks.
Evets is remarkable, the erstwhile jobbing musician-actor playing out Bishop's vulnerability to the fullest as a struggling worker and a two-time divorcee, attracting only antipathy from his ex-wife Lily (Stephanie Bishop), grown-up daughter Sam (Lucy-Jo Hudson) and unruly stepsons - with the eldest, Ryan (Gerard Kearns), mixing with an unsavoury crowd.