The Penalty King

I was fortunate enough to see this movie at a 'Premier' in the writer/directors home town of Brighton. Whilst I have to say that the home town ambiance added to the occasion, the viewing experience was often an uncomfortable one and not quite what I had expected from a football-comedy-drama. What is evident is that said writer/ director Chris Cook has a real talent. For a movie made on such a low budget and with a procession of technical operators, his ability to maintain a consistent atmosphere and tempo is a tribute to a skill honed on more modest offerings, but showcased brilliantly here in his first feature. This epic project took some 8 years to reach fruition, and his desire to complete it is clearly due to his obvious love for both Sunday football and Leeds United FC. It probably doesn't pay to wonder quite what drives Cooks mind as the darker corners of this movie are really unsavoury places to be. After all, a film about a blind Sunday league footballer who works in a social services disabled equipment loan store and supports Leeds United is not that grim a premise (is it?). But don't buy this movie expecting a Bend it Like Beckham or One Jimmy Grimble, or you will be in for quite a shock.

Cook elicits consistent performances from a cast of principally unknown, and in some cases never-to-be-seen-again actors, sprinkled with a few 'names' and familiar faces from TV and film. A feisty Claire Grogan brings added cache to the piece as the overtly dominant boss of the loan store, the only down side being the inevitable references to her previous work, and trust me this is no Gregory's Girl. But to be fair any contrived comparison to one of the best football comedies ever made is none the less flattering.

If I have to be critical of the film, the script often lacked direction and the sub-plots were inconclusive and at times superfluous. For a comedy film it lacked humour and often lazily reverted to cliché and profanity, but some of the set pieces were laugh-out-loud funny which was consolation indeed. Again on the plus side the soundtrack was fantastic and really kept things going when the pace looked like flagging. It's well known that Tarantino selects his soundtrack before the first line of the script gets written and this could have been the case here, so strong and relevant was the music choice. Also the lighting, editing and camera-work particularly in the 'darker' scenes belied the low budget and again demonstrate Chris Cook's skills as a movie maker. I hope the film gains cult status and allows us to see Cook behind a camera again sometime soon, I will wager that he ventures into horror in the near future, which with his record may be some ten years away, but if that's how long it takes I will be first in line to watch, I am already a fan.

As an avid football fan and Leeds United fan, I came across this film after appearing as an extra and enjoying the day filming at Elland Road and have been excited ever since the day's filming to see this film come to life.

One of the first things I noticed from the shoot was of the director's passion, motivation and energy for this film and the opportunity to be able express his life and his everyday stories of life being a Leeds United fan. My excitement was met with joy when I finally saw the film at a private screening at Elland Road.

The film is lovely story of a guy, a guy like many of us whose life revolves around a 9 to 5 job, a love for his wife and a love for 'the beautiful game' of football. Lee is unfortunately blind, and he still misses and dreams of the time he kicked around a ball for his local pub team and the love of Leeds United and "the wee ginger man" - Billy Bremner. Lee just wants to play football, and in tricky situations turns to his friend Billy Bremner to find answers to many of life's everyday questions.

This is not a film just for Leeds United fans, of course it is great to see Leeds United on the big screen and recollections of some great clips of Leeds in action and the stadium, but the story is really gripping and you can really feel the pain that Lee is under in his life, to just to be able to kick a ball around a car park or a football pitch.

I loved the film and look forward to seeing it in a big screen in the not too distant future. This is not just another football fan, it is an adventure through somebody's life who is full of passion, and to see how a guy can overcome his loss of sight and to be able to enjoy 'the beautiful game.'

The Penalty King tells the story of Lee who is a blind football fan, and his friend Charlie and how he gets Lee to love the Beautiful game again! I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the Penalty King, as usually a film about football would not be my first choice, but I think this film would appeal to football fans and non fans, as it is a strong character driven piece with a great, and very humorous in places script.

Though the film is of a lower budget, it has a high quality feel to it,by using lots of shooting locations,past Leeds games footage, and a good use of soundtrack.

Overall I found the Penalty King to be a funny uplifting movie, which is made more enjoyable by the buddy relationship between the central characters Lee and Charlie.

Suffering from the double disability of being both blind and a fervent Leeds United supporter, social worker Lee longs for nothing more to ease the frustrations of daily life than "a damn good kick-about". His unhinged colleague Charlie decides to make his dream come true, and inveigles him onto a local works football team. But will Lee ever get to exercise his preternatural talent for the penalty kick?

"The Penalty King" is an eccentric tale with a dark underside, although still more "Strictly Ballroom" than "Kes". Played by Nick Bartlett as a tightly-wound knot of barely contained aggression, Lee invites neither pity nor sympathy—more the impulse to duck behind a pillar when you see him coming. It's fair to say blindness is the least of his problems.

One senses writer/director Chris Cook went to some pretty dark places in his life for the raw materials for this fable, leading to an unsettling blend of truth and fantasy. For example, the portrait of the dank, dysfunctional social services depot where Lee works is both grotesquely over-the-top and strangely accurate. There's also a depth to the rest of the characters which is unusual in a comedy. Played with relish by a strong supporting cast, they're all pretty much bent or damaged too, and there's a violent and bitter edge to their relationships which undercuts the whimsy.

"Penalty King" might never achieve the crossover success of "Bend it like Beckham" but it still has all the makings of a cult favourite. It may lack a cart-wheeling Keira Knightley, but there are compensations, notably in the shape of the delightful but underused Clare Grogan (as Lee's bossy-boots boss), who still has the ability to make men of a certain age go weak at the knees. Her drunk scenes alone are worth the price of admission.

The film takes its own time to get going, and occasionally over-indulges itself, but can nevertheless sit alongside classics like "Sideways" and "Withnail and I" as an exploration of less creditable sides of the male psyche. An agreeable if not totally uplifting movie then, and, while something of a rough diamond, a gem all the same.

I was fortunate to see this film at a special preview at Elland Road and what a treat. Chris Cook (The director) has used real life experience and his love of Leeds United to create a special low budget cult film. From the early stages you can see his dry sense of humour and slightly twisted view of the world is reflected brilliantly by the means of witty replies and humours profanity. Penalty King follows the life a Lee a die hard Leeds fan who has recently lost his sight to illness and works in a dead end job at the social services cleaning second hand disability equipment. Apart from watching his beloved Leeds all Lee would like to do again is "have a good dam kick about" some thing not possible since the loss of his sight, but with the help of Charlie his eccentric American colleague can Lee once again live the dream and become the penalty king?

A must see for all Leeds fans or anyone who has a passion for a football club, works in a dead end job, played Sunday morning football or just enjoys a film with wall to wall laughs

Be warned though if you are offended by strong profanity this film might not be for you