Eric Cantona as himself and Steve Evets as Eric Bishop in LOOKING FOR ERIC directed by Ken Loach. Photo credit: Joss Barratt. An IFC Films release.
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- Sarah Ryan
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* Most external filmography links go to The Internet Movie Database.
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Looking for Eric (2009/2010)
Opened: 05/14/2010 Limited
| Limited | 05/14/2010 | |
| IFC Center | 05/14/2010 - 06/03/2010 | 21 days |
| Sunset 5/LA | 05/21/2010 - 05/27/2010 | 7 days |
| Laemmle's Moni... | 05/21/2010 - 05/27/2010 | 7 days |
| DVD | 09/14/2010 |
Trailer: Click for trailer
Genre: British Comedy/Drama
Rated: Unrated
Short Synopsis
Eric the postman is slipping through his own fingers...
His wife has gone, his stepsons are out of control and the house was chaotic even before a cement mixer appeared in the front garden. Life is crazy enough, but it is Eric's own secret that is driving him to the brink. How can he face up to Lily, the woman of his dreams that he once loved and walked out on many years ago? Despite the comical efforts and misplaced goodwill of his mates, Eric continues to sink.
In desperate times it takes a spliff and a special friend to help a lost postman find his way, so Eric turns to his hero: footballing genius, philosopher and poster boy, Eric Cantona.
As a certain Frenchman says "He who is afraid to throw the dice, will never throw a six."
The lead actors are Steve Evets and Eric Cantona, with Stephanie Bishop, Gerard Kearns and John Henshaw. It was shot entirely on location in Manchester.
Long Synopsis (Contains Spoilers)
Eric Bishop has lost it. Three thousand times the wrong way round a roundabout lost it. His workmates at the Post Office are worried. They've never seen him like this -- down on himself, distracted at work, a mess.
What tipped him over the edge was seeing his first wife Lily again. He said to his daughter Sam that he'd help look after her baby while she studied for her exams, which meant he'd have to meet up with Lily. It'd been a long time. Nearly 30 years ago they fell desperately in love, Lily got pregnant and Eric was determined to do right by her -- house, family, everything. But the prospect of real responsibility suddenly overtook him. He bolted, and left Lily on her own with the baby. It was the first of many panic attacks. Like the one on the roundabout.
After Lily, Eric remarried. His new wife Chrissie brought two sons from different relationships to the house, and when she left Eric soon after she left them there. He vowed to look after the boys, Ryan and Jess, which was fine when they were little. Now they're teenagers and they treat Eric like a doormat, when they notice him at all. The house is a pit. Eric's a skivvy.
Meatballs, the self-styled leader of the postmen, decides to take action. He's a bit of a bookworm in his spare time so he makes a beeline for the library's self-help section. The posties head round to Eric's house on the outskirts of Manchester to try and help him get his confidence back.
What he needs, according to Paul McKenna, anyway, is someone to look up to, someone who he can ask, 'What would they do?' All the lads are lifelong Manchester United fans, although some of them have started watching FC United instead. Not Eric: he picks his all-time hero, the man who made football art, Eric Cantona.
After the boys have left, Eric sparks up a spliff and gets chatting to his lifesize Cantona poster. What would 'Le Roi' do about Lily, the boys, everything?
It might be the weed, but Cantona appears in Eric's bedroom with some typically gnomic advice. With Cantona by his side, or at least in his head, Eric plumps up the courage to see Lily, and over a few weeks they begin to build a relationship again.
But Eric's eldest stepson Ryan is getting in to trouble. Zac, a local thug, is controlling him, and just when it looks as if Eric and Lily might be getting somewhere Eric is forced to lie to her to protect Ryan. What little trust she has in him dissolves. Eric is ashamed and isolated.
Eric needs to get Zac to leave Ryan alone, and to get Lily to believe in him again. But he can only do that, Cantona suggests, by trusting in his mates and asking for help. Meatballs and the boys hatch a plan to hit Zac where it hurts: Operation Cantona.
