Review: 'Looking for Eric' gritty and real

Americans approaching "Looking for Eric" will have to overcome a few obstacles if they want to have a good time. The "Eric" of the title is Eric Cantona, a soccer player as famous in Britain as Michael Jordan is in the United States. Just seeing Cantona playing himself here, as a lead character, will be a kick for many viewers across the pond. But here he's largely unknown, so that aspect will be lost.

So will much of the dialogue. Director Ken Loach specializes in tales of working-class English life, and the problem is that with all the glottal stops, swallowed words and foreign slang here, it's often difficult to follow what these guys are saying. Easily as much as a third of the dialogue in this film is impenetrable. Subtitles would have helped.

Finally - and this turns out to be a virtue in disguise - the world of "Looking for Eric" is just plain ugly. Loach is known as an uncompromising chronicler of lives on the edge, and even in this comedy, his characters look nothing like the people usually seen in movies. Some are grossly overweight. Some have discolored or missing teeth. Or both. Usually, unless they're making a medieval epic, directors are careful to make sure the actors' teeth won't scare the audience. But Loach is intent on placing this comedy within a genuine, hard-living milieu.

How hard-living? Put it this way. The movie revolves around Bishop, a 50-year-old postal worker with a lot of regrets. He's played by Steve Evets, and throughout the film I kept wondering why they got a 60-year-old to play a 50-year-old. Afterward, I went on imdb.com and saw that Evets is, in fact, only 50 years old.

And "Looking for Eric" is very much about being 50, not 40 or 60. That's the age at which the bills start arriving: If you've made big mistakes in your life, that's when they're realized as irrevocable and irreversible. In the case of our hero, his big mistake is that he left his wife and daughter almost 30 years ago, and now there's no denying that his life is empty and squalid. The reminders come daily, sometimes hourly. His big mistake is the curse that keeps on cursing.

That's when Cantona shows up in Bishop's house as a sort of spirit guide, like Humphrey Bogart in Woody Allen's "Play It Again, Sam." Cantona, who is big and charismatic, is a natural for movies, albeit a bit stiff on camera. He gives Bishop advice on how to win back his long-lost ex-wife (Stephanie Bishop), gain control of his rebellious stepsons and confront some of the neighborhood toughs.

Along the way, "Looking for Eric" emerges as a portrait of a world and a way of life. You will probably not want to live in Manchester after seeing this film, but you'll like and respect the people.

-- Advisory: Strong language.

E-mail Mick LaSalle at mlasalle@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page E - 8 of the San Francisco Chronicle