Saipan – Review

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 30 minutes, Directors – Glenn Leyburn, Lisa Barros D’Sa

In the build up to the 2002 World Cup the Irish national team travel to Saipan to acclimatise and train, however tensions rise between manager Mick McCarthy (Steve Coogan) and star captain Roy Keane (Éanna Hardwicke)

The heat of Saipan beats down, the air conditioning isn’t working and the hotel’s food offerings largely consist of cheese sandwiches. All fuelling the fire already building up in Irish national football team captain Roy Keane (Éanna Hardwicke) as he looks to get his head down and train for the upcoming 2002 World Cup, which the team qualified for without him whilst he was injured. However, training proves difficult when many key pieces of kit, including footballs, haven’t arrived on the island where the team have arrived to acclimatise and train before the tournament in Japan, two weeks away.

Manager Mick McCarthy (Steve Coogan) receives much of the blame from Keane. The pair have rarely got on, and that’s leaked into the tabloids on several occasions to the agitation of the other. An awkwardness often settles amongst the team and the executives who have also travelled over, despite the jokes and camaraderie attempted – also the frustration of the team captain who suggests none of them are taking anything seriously. Against the heat the rising tensions are thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

Coogan and Hardwicke invest in their characters and just how much they rub against each other. With McCarthy uncertain how to deal with Keane, while the latter berates his manager to his face – leading to a particularly explosive finale.

Having personally known nothing about the events, or relationship, at hand directors Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa, previously behind 2019’s underseen emotional cancer drama Ordinary Love, make a quickly engaging and entertaining drama. One that isn’t without its humour, in fact there are a good couple of well-placed chuckles throughout which naturally slot in and help keep things moving for the mere 90-minute run-time.

Things move and develop smoothly, even if the central relationship at the core of the film is beyond rocky. Much of this captured in Paul Fraser’s screenplay, which creates much of the spark for Keane and McCarthy further fuelled by Hardwicke and Coogan’s performances. Each acknowledges that this isn’t a deep, gritty drama. It’s centring on a football feud where one figure wants to win the World Cup and other wants to unite his team and keep them in good spirits to represent their country as best they can, with the hope of winning. It all makes for a well-paced and developed rift which we see grow to its peak, rather than start, in easily engaging and entertaining fashion.

With two invested central performances and consistent pacing, the rift that grows throughout Saipan captures the heat of both the tense relationship and location. Easily engaging and entertaining, this is a rock solid dramatic feud.