Sport holds a position like no other cultural entity in the Western world as it is, at the very same time, the most important and least important activity ever to be conceived. The cynics point out that it is a trivial, banal pursuit, played by usually hugely overpaid ‘stars’ which subjugates and distracts the lower classes in the great class struggle (copyright the Extreme Left). The sportlovers say that is sport has the quality to bring people and communities together in a way nothing else can. They are both absolutely right; a lovely paradox.
Unite comes down on the side of the sport romantics, albeit at a time when sport was less corrupted by money and much simpler to love. The drama centres around Manchester United and the Munich Air Crash in February 1958 and the effect the tragedy had on the city of Manchester, the narrative being told through the eyes of a young Bobby Charlton at the start of his career and the assistant manager of United; Jimmy Murphy, a man history should certainly not forget. The story follows the rise of the Busby Babes in the middle of the 1950s, the tragic accident that tore the team (and nearly the club apart) on the frozen runway at Munich Airport and the miraculous rebuilding of the club in the aftermath of the accident to reach the 1958 FA cup final.
Whilst starting off slowly, this is essential to the overall plot. By showing the emergence of the legendary Babes, through their togetherness as a team and their connection with the people of the city they live in, this adds to the effect of the disaster later on. We see the antics of Charlton, Duncan Edwards and all of the other magnificent young footballers Murphy assembled as they destroy other football teams with boyish smiles on their faces, their post-match evenings out at dancehalls (where Charlton is too shy to ask a girl to dance with him; something of a contrast to the exploits of today’s brand of Manchester United footballer) and the charmingly quaint fact that many of the Babes all live together with a landlady.
As the deep connections between the young team and the city becomes more and more established; one knows the ending of the story will be a heartbreaker but the impact is nonetheless just as hard hitting. The expertly directed and produced scene of the crash is wonderfully put together with a fantastic, eerie, maudlin soundtrack as the clock ticks towards the time of the disaster.
The real stand out performance is David Tennant as Jimmy Murphy, providing the full set of emotions from the inspirational, dressing room orator at the beginning of the emergence of the Busby Babes, to the stiff upper lip in front of the survivors of the crash at a Munich hospital, to his emotional breakdown in the stairwell of said hospital, through to his pride and love for the rag-tag team of survivors, amateurs and loaned professionals he puts together for the last part of the season.
For football bores (much like myself) there are certain annoyances at historical inaccuracies such as the airbrushing out of other important members of the Babes such as Tommy Taylor and Roger Byrne (though for the purposes of a 90 minute TV drama this is understandable), the portrayal of Matt Busby as a slightly cold, aloof from the training pitch Scot (though this may have been dramatic licence to build up the importance of Murphy more) and the rather big mistake that Manchester United played Sheffield Wednesday, not Fulham, in the Cup final (though this may…no, that one can’t be explained).
Despite the inaccuracies, this is a wonderful, loving tribute to the exploits of extraordinary men such as Murphy, Charlton, Harry Greig (the United keeper who ignored advice and went back into the fractured hull of the plane to look for survivors), Matt Bubsy (who was twice read the Last Rites before returning to manage United) and others who were involved in one of the tragic events that helped make sport so important to society.
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