Jimmy Muir comes from a typical gritty, northern town where there are only two options: working down the pit or in a factory. But Jimmy has other ideas - he dreams of becoming a professional footballer. Confronted by a bitter and unsupportive father, hard drinking friends and a lifetime of bad habits...has Jimmy the will to achieve his ultimate goal?
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Don't listen to the negative reviews
A waste of 90 minutes of my life
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
The movie really just wants to entertain people.
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
Uninspiring, total fairytale about a young Sheffield lad who never has the courage to pursue his dream of playing for local division one side United. That is until he meets a girl who really believes in him, and then everything changes."When Saturday Comes" is really a family drama about self-belief and self-destructive behaviour. It is not, however, a very good one. Too many clichés and a pointed script can't manage to involve the audience. None of the cast, including Sean Bean, Emily Lloyd and Pete Postlethwaite, are able to make you care. The final game is well staged and appears authentic.Monday, January 12, 1998 - Video
If you think Sean Bean as a 25 year old footballer (he was 37 when the film was made), playing park football at such a low level there is not even any goalnets but can still hit the big time is a little incredulous then wait until you see the film's finale.Those two gripes aside this is a likeable slice of English kitchen sink drama. A fine performance from John McEnery as Jimmys embittered, jealous father added to an entertaining if predictable story mean this film is well worth watching. Even the football action, which is notoriously difficult to cinemarise, is not as far from the real thing as most football action in films is.Also not to be missed is a cameo appearance from legendary Blade, Tony Currie. He looks like he has been to the acting school for nodding dogs to train for his part.
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!!!
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