Jimmy

When Saturday Comes is directed by Maria Giese who also adapts the screenplay from a story by James Daly. It stars Sean Bean, Emily Lloyd, Craig Kelly, Pete Postlethwaite, John McEnery and Melanie Hill. Music is by Anne Dudley and Joe Elliott of Def Leopard fame, and cinematography is by Grant Cameron and Gerry Fisher.

Jimmy Muir (Bean) loves football, beer and women, his lads life is fun but certainly it could be better. Perhaps now that he is dating sexy wages clerk Annie Doherty (Lloyd) things are starting to settle in his life? More reason for optimism is that his football prowess has been noticed by Ken Jackson (Postlethwaite), the coach of Hallam FC, a man with friendly links to the manager of Jimmy's beloved Sheffield United. The world, it seems, is Jimmy's oyster, but problems at home, of the heart and socially, could scupper Jimmy's last chance for glory and life fulfilment.

Completely fantastical rags to riches sports movie with a keen eye for working class based social realism, When Saturday Comes is one of the better football based movies out there. But it is in a genre splinter that's hardly brimming with quality anyway. True enough to say it's treading familiar turf, and the ending holds absolutely no surprises at all. While the last quarter of film badly rushes to get to the "punch the air moment", to leave the picture with a whiff of emptiness. But it's the off field aspects of the tale that strike the better chords.

Jimmy Muir is basically a good guy, he's just caught in the vortex of a blokey lifestyle. Themes of a parental stymie and peer pressure add a bite to the screenplay, especially since the backdrop is one of a working class place that offers only the mine and the brewery for employment. Football is Jimmy's beacon of hope, it keeps him sane, but can he be all he can be? As a character study, with Bean adding grit and emotional guts, Giese's film is assuredly a winner, if only the football aspects weren't so choppy and amateurish, then the film would be better thought of in the sports movie sphere.

Led by Bean, the performances are up to a good standard, even Lloyd, who manages to get away with an iffy Irish accent because her portrayal of Annie is so spunky and grounded. The photography suitably paints it as "Grim Up North", and Dudley's score is melodic and sits nicely with the various emotive turns in the narrative. There's issues and goofs within, especially obvious to those who know about British football, like how old is Bean? Mel Sterland playing for Sheffield United? A home semi-final in the FA Cup? And there's that annoying rush in the last quarter, where everything is condensed without thought to building up expectation. But it shoots and scores most of the time, particularly when away from the football pitch. 6.5/10

I saw this film primarily because I am a supporter of Sheffield United. To fully enjoy it however, you need to suspend belief and overlook some of the inaccuracies that it contains. The depiction of Sheffield for example, appears to be more appropriate to the seventies than the nineties and some of the dialogue & accents were "out of date".

However, these were small reservations and overall I enjoyed the film - mainly from the perspective Sheffield United fan. Come on you Blades!!!

Eeeee by gum as they say in Yorkshire times are tough . On leaving school lads have a choice of either working down the pits or in factories while girls have a choice of marrying a lad who works either down the pit face or in a factory . Further education doesn`t seem to be an option in Yorkshire even though Sheffield does indeed have an university , I should know because I`ve been there . Oh didn`t all the coal mines close in Yorkshire sometime in the late 1980s ? In other words we`ve got a kitchen sink drama full of stereotypes and anachronisms

That said I did like WHEN SATURDAY COMES just because it`s a gritty drama well acted by its cast . Despite being too old for his role by about ten years Sean Bean plays his role very well especially if you only know him as a baddie from films like GOLDENEYE and PATRIOT GAMES . Emily Lloyd is also good and you really do feel for the characters in this film unlike the overrated comedy drama THE FULL MONTY which was also set in Sheffield

WHEN SATURDAY COMES is a little, British football flick but brilliant. Quite similar to FEVER PITCH but ten times more better. It provides booze, sex and excitement on the pitch. You can't get fed up this the first time you watch it. Brilliant and FULL MONTY style, this film was so exciting and Sean Bean gives a good performance. It was so good that my popcorn finished a quarter of the way through it, that's how excited i was even though i had a mega-deluxe bag. Blood rushed was rushing all over to different parts of my body. All that i could think of was football, sex, booze, football, sex, booze. WSC. What pardon?. WSC. I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1. It is more exciting than watching boring, boring Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Brazil. Ah, what's wrong?....your hot dog finished?, tomato ketchup spilt down your jumper. WSC is brilliant.

Most of the other comments pretty much sum it up - a clichéd plot line, saddled with the problem of finding actors that look as if they are sportsmen. The action was a huge improvement on "Escape to Victory" for sure, but it was still stilted and pedestrian... This film does nothing new - its Billy Elliot with football boots - or should that be Billy Elliot is WSC with ballet shoes on... whatever... but BE was a far, far better film than this could ever hope to be - better sub plots, better acting, better dancing cf football. Sean Bean isn't a great actor - but he's better than this hackneyed excuse of a part.

That all said the cameos almost save this film. The character of Jimmy's dad works - it hurts to watch this sad, bitter, twisted man. Jimmy, brother, Russell, although the dialogue and screenplay is somewhat underwhelming steals the show however for the one really "real" moment in this film that is delivered to perfection - the disappointment, the incredulity, the hero-trashed-before-my-eyes-don't-want-to-believe-it-how-can-you-do-it moment when Jimmy succumbs to peer pressure and downs a large whiskey before ordering another round on the night before his second trial. THAT moment alone takes this film into a fairly abject 5/10.

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