The United Way
Sky UKA compact showcase of Manchester United is no small feat. With such highs and lows to recount, The United Way has its work cut out for it. An iconic club, synonymous with the domination of football for quite a while and a history behind it that gives The United Way and director Mat Hodgson room to spread the history out and pace it well. That would be the ideal scenario. Documenting the days of Matt Busby all the way through to Sir Alex Ferguson and the current era of matchmaking is a great chunk of history. With only ninety minutes to cover it all, the omissions are inevitable and the focuses Hodgson takes on are questionable at times, but he has faith in his documentarian skills and the interviewees he has assembled.
But credit where it is due, Hodgson sticks to his guns, and incredibly so. He opens with the harsh truths and the awful tragedies that bring a sense of community to the club. The Munich Air Disaster is documented briefly and brutally. Hodgson has an emotive core that is ruined by record-scratch moments and a flurry of interviews that crop up for a little line or two and nothing more. As Status Quo plays over the archive footage and Eric Cantona leans into the camera, well, it is hard to take away any sense of impartiality. The United Way is a love letter to Manchester United, and not a strong one. Its heart is in the right place, but the terrible lengths Hodgson goes through to wring out the tiniest ounces of emotion is awkward. He glosses over great swathes of history just to focus on a pocket of brevity here or a break away for cup glory there.
But at least the history is there. The United Way will be hopeless for those who do not hold some great love for footballing history and the domination Manchester United provided both domestic and international leagues. Cantona serving as this awkward blend between interviewee and narrator to the camera marks him as both useless and integral. He is a fountain of knowledge and experience, relegated to introducing the pockets of history Hodgson wants to focus on. It would have been easier to follow a streamlined structure, and the consistency of which Hodgson breaks away to Cantona and his dialogue shows a lack of faith in the streamlined but bulky information package.
A cameo-littered documentary that tries to bridge the gap between billionaire club owners and the dedicated fans at the heart of the “family,” as David Beckham calls it. Back to the days of Busby and Cantona and all the great days under Bobby Charlton. Names are thrown around The United Way frequently because that is all it has. Names. Manchester United has a rich history of great names. They are talented names synonymous with success and glory, underwear franchises, and Ken Loach. On paper, the club is the beating heart of the working-class mentality of prime-time football, but the then and now is never understood or noted with much championing of either era.