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The social realist team of Paul Laverty and Ken Loach (“The Wind That Shakes the Barley”) spike this midlife crisis with a welcome dose of magical realism.
Steve Evets is engaging as Eric, a disenfranchised UK postal worker at the end of his rope.
After crashing his car by driving the wrong way around a roundabout until calamity strikes him head-on, Eric starts receiving personal visits from his football hero Eric Cantona (played by the actual Frenchman who played for Manchester United).
There’s a psychological explanation for the logic here since Eric has been doing some role playing group therapy with his similarly middle-aged pals.
At home, Eric looks after his stepsons without the help of his ex-wife.
Under the advice of his like named not-so-invisible hero, Eric begins to mend bridges with his childhood sweetheart Lily (Stephanie Bishop), while getting caught up in protecting his criminally wayward son Ryan from a violent gang leader who has left Ryan with a gun for safe keeping.
The film expresses a palpable joy and lust for life that is intoxicating.
It might have been a good idea for the filmmakers to add subtitles to help compensate for the characters’ thick English accents.
But even with a few lost sentences here and there, none of the story’s heartfelt sincerity is lost in translation.
Not Rated. 116 mins.
