Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Sebastian (sts-26) I discovered this film tucked away in the DVD rental shop. I cannot say why I bothered to rent it - I am not a sports fan, and have no knowledge of soccer. I suppose I thought, hey, it is British, and Carlyle is in it, so it cannot be all bad. Once I sat down and watched it, I was blown away.This film is one of those hidden gems, a movie with a great script, a talented cast, a wonderfully unique setting, but no buzz. My feelings about such films are mixed. On the one hand I am elated to have stumbled upon such a treat. On the other, I am deeply saddened to think of all the people out there who may have loved such a movie, but will never see it. And it depresses me to think that there are many more films out there that I will miss.I would urge anyone reading these reviews, who has not seen Jimmy Grimble, to rent or buy it ASAP, and anyone who has only seen it once to see it at least one more time. And spread the word about this, and other great, but largely-ignored, movies. Haven't we had enough of movie adaptations of bad sitcoms and comic books, films inspired by "lifestyle", and terrible movie franchises? Aren't we tired of clichés and feature-length commercials. Fight for quality with your viewing habits, and word of mouth.

l-whittington I watched this film and quite enjoyed it.I liked that Jimmy Grimble played soccer. I also enjoyed that he played soccer well. Jimmy Grimble played soccer well.I also enjoyed that he had multiple father figures. Sometimes, these father figures would vie for primacy in the same shot. For my money, Harry is the primary father figure, because he is in with Jimmy's mum, but the sad coach bloke isn't.I wish I had multiple father figures.In relation to the weird chick, I thought that she was kind of awesome. Like, I would love to go to school in Manchester some time, play soccer well, have a deadbeat coach, vie for my mother's attention with a different deadbeat (though not a coach) and then tour cemeteries with a weird chick.If I had to put her in a position, I'd suggest right wing.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU A film about football is quite commonplace. A film about young boys who want to become VIPs in life is also quite banal. But a young boy who wants to become a star in Manchester United is as brilliant as a blue sky and as pure as white snow, and there can only be one out of a great number of candidates. Jimmy Grimble had everything against him. His unmarried mother with short-term man friends was not a comfortable family situation. He was the victim of the bullies at his comprehensive school and one of the bullies was the son of the rich tycoon who was going to invest a lot of money to build a new gym for the school. The girl he likes, more or less, at least he would like to make friends with, is a pugilist and she does not like football. The only man friend of her mother's who likes him and he likes has to get unattached and detached from another liaison before being what he wants to be, the father of this boy as well as the husband of this mother of his. And yet his success will come from a strange spiritual and virtual construction he will build in his own mind about a pair of shoes an old homeless woman gave him one day when he was being chased by the bullies. The shoes of a mythical football player. Jimmy Grimble decided in his head that he is only winning, and brilliantly at that, because of the shoes. And what will happen if the shoes are thrown away by one of the bullies? That's the film, the magic of the film, the magic of football too. And a lesson is given to us at the same time. Jimmy scores three times in the final match of the school cup, the first time by himself, and the other two times by using the bully who likes him so much (Ah! Ah!), once with a pass that leads the bully to score through a wide easy opening, and the other time by using the bully's head as a rebounding wall to score without him doing anything except getting stunned by the ball. Teamwork is fundamental in football because it confuses the opponents, provided it is creative. I guess the bully did not like it after all.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Paris Dauphine & University of Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne

cottrellpj A bit unfair to criticize this film too much, it's set up like a British made for television feature (low budget, authentic grotty settings, ludicrous phony snow on the streets) and is clearly intended for a young audience. This must be the only Britflick I've seen lately that doesn't use the "f" or "c" words. In the end I felt good about it, despite the predictable progress of the plot and the heavyhanded "moral of the story" moments. The viewer will enjoy this more if he/she is up on British footballing culture, and the accents are much thicker than on Coronation Street, so you have been warned. Good cast, though every part except Jimmy Grimble himself is underwritten. McKee is gorgeous (but who buys her as a slutty single Mum?) and Carlyle takes a minimalist approach to a role that's already fairly thin on paper. Winstone is a wonderful presence without much to do, and the football scenes are more believable than in most pictures (except for the final moments, in which Jimmy is either 100 yards offside or the entire opposition took an actor's union tea break).