The Keeper, 2018.
Directed by Marcus H. Rosenmüller.
Starring David Kross, Freya Mavor, John Henshaw, Harry Melling, Michael Socha, Dave Johns, Chloe Harris and Gary Lewis.
SYNOPSIS:
The story of Manchester City goalkeeping legend Bert Trautmann, who rose from being a German POW to being a hero for British football fans.
For some reason, British cinema has often stayed away from making loads of films about football. The UK is a nation in love with the ‘Beautiful Game’, but we seldom transfer that adoration into our movies. With the exception of stuff like Gregory’s Girl, Bend It Like Beckham and that one scene in Kes, we tend to confine football to strange hooliganism films like Green Street and The Football Factory. That makes The Keeper, which tells the story of iconic Manchester City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann, something surprisingly unusual, and really rather charming.
David Kross plays Trautmann, who is captured by British forces in the final months of the Second World War and interned in a POW camp led by the psychotic posho Sgt. Smythe (Harry Melling). Football manager Jack Friar (John Henshaw) spots him stopping a series of penalties in the camp to win cigarettes and arranges for him to play in goal for non-league St Helens Town. Despite friction with star striker Bill Twist (Michael Socha), Bert becomes a fan favourite and begins a relationship with Jack’s daughter Margaret (Freya Mavor). Soon, Man City comes calling and Bert has made it to the big time, but his wartime background attracts scrutiny.
Trautmann’s story is inspiring and engaging in a way that absolutely lends itself to being told in underdog fashion on the big screen. It’s a tale of talent overcoming prejudice in a way that’s desperately uplifting, refracted through the inherently exciting prism of football. Kross is solid and appealing as Trautmann, who comes across as a normal bloke experiencing profound regret for his involvement with the Nazi regime. Similarly, the reliably solid Freya Mavor – terrific in Proclaimers musical Sunshine On Leith – does great work as the love of his life.
There’s also a colourful supporting cast who are firing on all cylinders. John Henshaw steals the film entirely as Trautmann’s coach and mentor with a broadly comedic turn, which gives way to obvious heart and affection in the more intimate family scenes. Michael Socha, too, makes a strong impression in his brief appearance as an arrogant star player usurped by Trautmann’s skills.
The problems, though, start with the script, co-written by director Marcus H. Rosenmüller with Robert Marciniak and Nicholas J. Schofield. It is packed with clichéd dialogue that lands with a clunk. Mavor describes dancing as “floating” and Bert adds that “football is just a kind of dancing” in scenes so syrupy that the film almost collapses under the weight of their saccharine schmaltz. The romance is played a little awkwardly and a late in the day return for Melling’s character is equally clumsy.
Thankfully, The Keeper comes alive in its second half, once Trautmann makes the move to Man City. He now receives major press attention over his past and is forced to grapple with the fact he is now a public figure, rather than just someone who enjoys playing football. The scenes on the pitch are also very good, frequently cutting between black and white newsreel footage and full colour recreations of the action. Football in the 1940s and 50s had a naturally slower pace than today’s game, and this allows the film to keep up a lot easier while maintaining the energy of the game at its finest.
Inevitably, this builds to the 1956 FA Cup Final, in which Trautmann sustained the dramatic injury for which he is most remembered. For those aware of what is ahead, it imbues the match with incredible tension, and it’s a dramatic sequence, followed by an emotional gut punch from Trautmann’s life, of which I was not previously aware.
However, the movie continues for slightly too long after this moment, piling on further cliché that undercuts the excitement and emotion of what came before. The Keeper is an engaging and warm journey through the career of one of football’s finest, but it also has a habit of tripping over its own feet.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Tom Beasley is a freelance film journalist and wrestling fan. Follow him on Twitter via @TomJBeasley for movie opinions, wrestling stuff and puns.
