''Believe'' is a 2013 British sports drama film directed by David Scheinmann. Set in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1984, it stars Brian Cox as legendary Scottish football manager Sir Matt Busby, who comes out of retirement to coach a team of young working-class boys captained by the talented but unruly Georgie Gallagher (played by Jack Smith). The film also stars

Natascha McElhone Natascha McElhone (; born Natascha Abigail Taylor, 14 December 1971) is a British actress. She is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In film, she is best known for her roles in '' Ronin'' (1998), '' The Truman Show'' (1 ...

as Erica Gallagher,

Anne Reid Anne Reid, MBE (born 28 May 1935) is a British stage, film and television actress, known for her roles as Valerie Barlow in the soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (1961–1971); Jean in the sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000); and her role ...

as Jean Busby and

Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for the ...

as Georgie's prospective headmaster. ''Believe'' was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2014.

Plot

In 1984

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, Georgie Gallagher lives with his widowed mother, Erica (

). His passion for football is challenged by Erica's desire to have Georgie attend the prestigious, rugby-playing Lancashire Grammar School For Boys, run by the strict and scholarly Dr Farquar (

). Georgie is up for scholarship at the prestigious school pending on his passing of the entrance exam. Whilst attending an open day at the school, Georgie sees a leaflet for a regional Manchester Junior Football Cup tournament. Determined to enter and beat the team of school bullies, Georgie snatches a wallet from a stranger in the hopes of getting the £20 entrance fee. The stranger happens to be an elderly Sir Matt Busby ( Brian Cox), and after tracking him down along with the help of his friend Bob ( Philip Jackson), the pair learn that Georgie is an unusually talented footballer. Matt and Georgie reach an agreement whereby Matt will coach Georgie's football team in exchange for silence over his theft. Still needing the money to enter the football tournament, Georgie attempts to break into Dr Farquar's house in order to steal back the tuition fee that Erica had been paying in order to ensure Georgie's passes his entrance exam to the grammar school. He is caught and arrested, and banned from playing football as punishment. The team finds an article in the paper about Sir Matt Busby and realize that their coach is the famous manager of the legendary Manchester United team. Feeling betrayed by his team and Sir Matt Busby for not revealing his true identity before, Georgie quits the team and refuses to play in the final. Georgie is deeply hurt, feeling that all adults undoubtedly end up lying to him. On the day of Sir Matt Busby's 75th birthday, the team gears up to play the final, while Georgie takes his exam with hopes of passing and receiving his scholarship. Georgie urges Erica to attend the final to cheer on the team. Without their leader, the team is down by 2 goals. In a moment of grace, Dr. Farquar interrupts the game with his beloved brass band, while Erica rushes to get Georgie to play the second half of the match. Georgie confides in his mother and says he wants to win the cup in honour of his late father. In the final moments of the game Georgie scores with a direct free kick to win the cup.

Cast

* Jack Smith as Georgie Gallagher * Brian Cox as Sir Matt Busby *

as Erica Gallagher *

as Jean Busby * Philip Jackson as Bob *

Kate Ashfield Kate Ashfield (born 28 May 1972) is an English actress, who has appeared in stage, TV and film roles, most famously in her role as Liz in the 2004 zombie comedy ''Shaun of the Dead''. She is the co-writer of the 2017 TV series ''Born to Kill''. ...

as Helen *

James Callis James Nicholas Callis (born 4 June 1971) is a British actor. He is known for playing Dr. Gaius Baltar in the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' miniseries and television series, and Bridget Jones's best friend Tom in '' Bridget Jones's Di ...

as Man in Mac *

as Dr. Farquar

Filming

Filming began in September 2011 and took place at various locations around

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

; many key scenes were shot at the

Stockport Cricket Club Stockport Cricket Club is situated on Beech Road, Cale Green, Stockport in the North West of England. The club has three senior sides and a junior section. The first and second teams play in the Cheshire Cricket League, while the third team pl ...

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 2009606 2013 films 2010s sports drama films British sports drama films British association football films Films set in the 1980s Films set in Manchester 2013 drama films Films shot in Greater Manchester 2010s English-language films 2010s British films

Plot

Cast

Filming

See also

References

External links