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Steve Evets, Eric Cantona, Stephanie Bishop, Gerard Kearns, Stefan Gumbs ... see more see more... , Lucy-Jo Hudson , Cole Williams , Dylan Williams , Matthew McNulty , Laura Ainsworth , Max Beesley , Kelly Bowland , Julie Brown , John Henshaw , Justin Moorhouse , Des Sharples , Gregory Russell Cook , Mick Ferry , Smug Roberts , Johnny Travis , Steve Marsh , Cleveland Campbell , Ryan Pope

A man trying to put his life back on track gets some advice from an unexpected benefactor in this comedy drama from acclaimed British director Ken Loach. Eric Bishop (Steve Evets) is a postman living ... read more read more...in Manchester whose life has been slowly going off the rails ever since his wife, Lily (Stephanie Bishop), walked out on him. Eric has just been released from the hospital after an auto accident, and comes home to a house that's a mess and two teenage sons, Ryan (Gerard Kearns) and Jess (Stefan Gumbs), who regard their dad as an annoyance rather than an authority figure. Eric's oldest child, a grown daughter named Sam (Lucy-Jo Hudson), loves him but can't get her mother or brothers to show him any respect. And his friends from work don't know what to do for him, except allow him to talk about football and his favorite team, Manchester United. One night, Eric is home alone, smoking some weed, and to his amazement he's visited by an apparition of Eric Cantona, the French footballer who was a star for Manchester United in the 1990s until he retired and dropped out of sight. Cantona's ghost has come to give Eric a pep talk and offer him some advice on how to win Lily back, and as Eric tries to convince his wife to give him another chance, Cantona periodically appears to coach him in the ways of romance. Looking for Eric was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

78% liked it

8,867 ratings

Critics

85% liked it

93 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: Ken Loach

Release Date: May 14, 2010

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DVD Release Date: October 12, 2009

Stats: 888 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (888)

  • joelkelly319
    October 27, 2011
    joelkelly319
    Looking for Eric is a gritty and realistic comedy-drama, which doesn't sacrifice laughter in-spite of all the glumness. Eric Bishop is a typical miserable northener on the surface, and we follow him through his juggling act of a life, as he's helped along by Eric Cantona. It's fu... read morell of interesting and well devoloped characters, and the acting is really quite striking. Even Eric Cantana is good, proving that sports stars can act (well he is playing himself). Throw a happy ending into the mix, and you have a brilliant story of a man overcoming his troubles, with the help of friends.
  • SirPant
    December 22, 2010
    SirPant
    Ken Loach is a great director and doesn't make enough films for my liking. You can harp on about your Danny Boyles all you like, Loach is the best of British (along side Mike Leigh of course). Looking for Eric manages to reach that perfect balance of light humour and gripping dra... read morema beautifully. Evets and Cantona are brilliant together in the leading roles and it is great to see the always brilliant John Henshaw in a supporting role on the big screen. A slightly different direction from Loach's usual direction but with all the usual quality film-making. Brilliant.
  • blacksheepboy
    September 10, 2010
    blacksheepboy
    A delightful, outstanding tragicomedy that is amazingly involving, blending sadness, tenderness and humor in a heart-warming story with a great deal of amazing performances - especially by a hilarious Éric Cantona at his most philosophical.
  • Alireza64ir
    August 18, 2010
    Alireza64ir
    An undeniable amusing feel good movie and Ken Loach's most entertaining one.Most of Loach's greatness is due to his screenwriter,who once again did a great job and wrote an another diffrent screenplay,which was flawed but atleast audience's interests were considered in it.There w... read moreere few scenes that i didnt like,such as when Eric Cantona was talking about his football career and best moments of his life while some parts of his games was shown, which was inappropriate and also portraying an asshole like Eric Cantona as a hero who changed the man's life,while we know footballers are pricks.
  • MrMarakai
    July 4, 2010
    MrMarakai
    The master of British working class cinema Ken Loach offers up a more light-hearted little film in the wake of his hard hitting Irish revolutionary film "The Wind that Shakes the Barley".
    Eric Bishop (Steve Evets) is a 50 something postman who's life has taken a serious downturn... read more. He is plagued with regrets of his past, in abandoning his first wife and newborn baby and now struggling to manage his teenage sons from his second marriage. One of his outlets for fun is following his beloved football team Manchester Utd and it's from the past years of this succesful team that he is given some life coaching and guidance from none other than Eric Cantona, the French footballing sensation who is also famous for his philosophical ramblings.
    A far more uplifting film from Loach than his usual depictions of the british working class. This still has the gritty realism of his previous work but he's concentrated more on the humorous aspect of his and writer Paul Laverty's talents. This is all helped perfectly by an excellent lead performance by Evets as the downtrodden, angst riddled father and despite Cantona being no thespian, he manages to add a surprisng amount of humour to the film. An enjoyable way to spend an hour or so but I think I still prefer my Loach films, less poached and more hard-boiled.
  • gor41
    February 18, 2010
    gor41
    Very average Loach film enlivened by a winning central performance from Evets and let down by a daft gun crime subplot which seems to have wondered in from a different movie.
  • McKittrick
    June 14, 2009
    McKittrick
    Not the best thing Ken Loach has given us (verging on winsome) but laugh out loud funny and quite moving all the same. And if smoking weed makes Eric Cantona appear sitting on my bed, giving advice in Francais and urging me to dance with him (he'll be the woman apparently!) then ... read moreI'm off to find a dealer this second. Ooh ahh, Canton-ah! Indeed!
  • gator681
    July 29, 2011
    gator681
    "Looking for Eric" starts with Eric Bishop(Steve Evets), a middle-aged postman, going around in circles. In a roundabout. In the wrong direction. Which leads to the inevitable collision but somehow manages to avoid any loss of life. After spending a few days in the hospital, ... read moreEric returns to his house to find it a disaster area due to his teenaged sons Ryan(Gerard Kearns) and Jess(Stefan Gumbs) having the unsupervised run of the place. At least, his daughter Sam(Lucy-Jo Hudson), now a mother herself, is more considerate, as she works towards a reconciliation between her parents, Eric and his first wife Lily(Stephanie Bishop). To help matters, Eric starts to receive advice from a most unexpected source.

    When I first heard the premise of "Looking for Eric," I feared writer Paul Laverty and director Ken Loach had finally gone soft. And I'm happy to report that this could not be any further from the truth as they display their customary talent for honestly depicting the struggles of working class characters.(This does not excuse the third act plot twist that comes out of nowhere, however.) One thing that eases the pain, at least temporarily, is sports and they use this to explore the culture of masculinity that forbids the men to talk about their feelings. Eric finds a way around that by confiding in an invocation of Manchester soccer legend Eric Cantona(who plays himself), instead of say David Beckham who has gone Hollywood, even though Cantona is French.(I mention this because some people still have not gotten over the Hundred Years' War.) It helps that Cantona seems like a man of the people who played when tickets to games were still affordable to the common man. In any case, Eric should not forget that he has friends and co-workers that have his back and cover for him when need be.
  • panta2
    January 26, 2010
    panta2
    British cinematography in it's best! If the screenplay had guts like the director and the actors this could be a movie with cult following! Even this way it left me after an hour and 56 minutes thursty for moreeeeeee! Lovely!
  • lesleyanorton
    June 29, 2009
    lesleyanorton
    Very British, very Ken Loach, about the love of football, with an optimistic (if optimistic!) ending and some French bits.

View All Looking for Eric Reviews

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones
January 3, 2011
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

[A] well-meaning misfire. Full Review

Colin Covert
July 8, 2010
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

In a rousing change of pace, England's master of dramatized poverty, marginalization and despair dabbles in comedy, fantasy, soccer and wish-fulfillment, with charming, audience-pleasing results. Full Review

Jonathan F. Richards
June 25, 2010
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com

The motley crew of buddies, played by a passel of Manchester stand-up comedians, is a distinctive and amusing lot, and Evets does a great job in the lead Full Review

Peter Rainer
May 28, 2010
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

Loach strains hard for fun in Looking for Eric, but he's like a jokester who doesn't know how to tell a joke. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
May 27, 2010
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Looking for Eric emerges as a portrait of a world and a way of life. Full Review

Tom Long
May 21, 2010
Tom Long, Detroit News

Looking for Eric is a pleasant surprise -- somehow both ambitious and easygoing, funny and worrisome. Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
May 20, 2010
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

At times it falls flat, or fails to rise. More often than not, though, it's a heartbreaker. Full Review

Betsy Sharkey
May 20, 2010
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

Cantona, whose five-year run with United ended with his unexpected retirement in 1997, plays himself with a self-deprecating charm that is hard to resist, and Evets, a hardscrabble actor who's knocked... Full Review

Ty Burr
May 20, 2010
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Beginning in grim kitchen-sink territory, the movie gets lighter and goofier as it goes, and if it's a bit of a mess, it's also a pick-me-up that suggests how hard and how rewarding it can be to set a... Full Review

Steven Rea
May 20, 2010
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Cantona, big and bearded, is a genial Gallic guru. It's hard not to be swayed by his optimism, his sagacity, his generosity. And the optimism and generosity of Loach's film. Full Review

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