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Looking for Eric

Written by Alison Grist
Tuesday, 09 June 2009 00:00

Ken Loach, exceptional film director, brings a heart-warming tale to our cinemas: A story of a broken postman who finally realises that his friends – and football legend Eric Cantona – are his weapons with which to avoid self-destruction.

Eric Bishop the postman (Steve Evets) has panic attacks. The film opens with him not able to face up to his first wife, Lily, the woman of his dreams, so he crashes his car in an attempt to retreat from life. With his second wife gone, his home is like a doss house and his teenage stepsons seem beyond caring. But he has his pals – several overweight postmen who try to cheer him up.

On a self-improvement night round Eric’s, just before they realise he’s been hoarding his postal deliveries, he’s inspired to think about his sporting hero, the French footballer Eric Cantona who famously played for Manchester United and became legendary for kicking both on and off the pitch. But how can the flawed genius of football help this flawed postman?

The answer appears when Eric withdraws to the sanctuary of his bedroom, a Man U shrine, to smoke his son’s spliff. He turns to his Cantona poster on the wall and says, “When was the last time you were happy, Eric? Ever thought of killing yourself?” We realise he’s asking himself.

The real-life Cantona appears in the bedroom and, through quiet enigmatic conversation, becomes Eric’s life coach with shrewd motivational proverbs such as: “He who is afraid to throw the dice will never throw a six.” It’s a major turning point in the film as Eric starts to take control of his life and actions. Another turning point is when he asks his post pals for help shake off a local mobster abusing his stepson’s loyalty. They command several coaches, don Cantona masks and embarrass the mobster by attacking his material possessions and filming it for YouTube.

This film is raw, but has moments of real beauty and is ultimately a heart-warming story of a man who is helped by his mates and imaginary friend to dig his way out of his tunnel of a life, the hole almost collapsing at every turn. It’s a simple story of humanity, so even if you're not into Manchester United, Eric Cantona or even a football fan at all, you can still enjoy and appreciate it for what it is.

The swearing is realistic, though not for the faint-hearted; the violence is purposeful, not gratuitous. It’s the characters who shine – from the comedic postman pals (Director Ken Loach imagined these as those cheeky Mechanicals from Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”) to Eric’s family – the warmth of his first wife, his daughter and, ultimately, his stepsons. In Looking for Eric, Loach and long-term writing collaborator, Paul Laverty, convey the message that true friendship is solidarity; it won’t let you down. True love is worth working for and it’s better to communicate than not.

It’s the secret chats between the two Erics – magic realism aside – that will stay with you long after the credits. See how the straight-backed, Gallic arrogance of Cantona (“I’m not a man, I’m Cantona!”) grows softer with friendship with the round-backed, worn-down Eric. And, in reverse, how Eric’s back becomes straighter as his pride grows towards the end. This is a light-hearted film, but also incredibly moving.

Check out the trailer for Looking for Eric: