Inspired by a true story, Sir Matt Busby the legendary Manchester United manager helps Georgie Gallagher and his friends become a team to compete in the Manchester youth cup.
Set in 1984 the film really is heartwarming and has a couple of different things going on for the story. We see Georgie having a battle with his mother about wanting to play football and his behavior towards money and trying to help out does not work out in the best way as he tries stealing to do this. When he steals an old man’s wallet he gets more than he bargained for when that man is Sir Matt. Who decides he wants to coach the team and help them win the cup.
Sir Matt was one of the survivors of the Munich air disaster and he battles with the demons of this. Shown in flashbacks in the film and mentioning the young players who died on that fateful trip. These scenes are incredibly powerful and really hit home about how a disaster can really impact someone and its something they will never forget or be able to get away from.
The film has some fantastic scenes which will make you smile and even laugh, dribbling with a grapefruit was one of these moments. A different take on things, and then the final looking like Manchester United against Manchester City with the red and blue strips. Little touches like this which might get a little lost if you don’t follow football. Although that shouldn’t really be a problem at all.
A British film about football which works for me, it had a little touch of everything and you cannot fault any of the children in the film. This is the first film they have been in and during the end credits I liked that it had which teams they play for, just a little extra to show that they must have had a fantastic time making this film with playing football themselves.
While it is mainly about Georgie and whether he will get into the grammar school after the extra lessons and exam to get in, it becomes a little more than that and about a team and working together both on and off the pitch. They added in a girl in the team as well which I thought was a good touch, as shows that girls have had a big interest in the game for a long time now.
This film has been released in (some) cinemas in the UK and also available to watch now on Sky Movies through On Demand. Something which does not happen very often but totally makes sense as it would struggle to compete with the big summer blockbusters currently being released at the cinema. This has a big heart though, believe!
