Main Cast: Colin Firth, Ruth Gemmell, Neil Pearson, Lorraine Ashbourne, Mark Strong
Release Year: 1997
Country: UK
Run Time: 102 minutes
Plot
A football fan tries to reconcile his obsessive love of the game with his job, his romantic relationships, and his life in general in this comedy/drama. Since he was a child in North London, Paul Ashworth (Colin Firth) has been a loyal fan of the Arsenal football team; he attended many a match with his father as a child, especially after his parents divorced, and Arsenal's annual season is one of the few emotional anchors in his life. Now in his mid-30s, Paul teaches English at a state-run school and has become involved with Sarah (Ruth Gemmell), a fellow member of the school staff. While she's pretty, bright, and in nearly all ways a good catch, Sarah doesn't care for football. This lack of interest unfortunately shows itself at a time when Arsenal seems poised to win their first championship in 18 years, and Paul hopes to buy a house near their stadium to make it easier to attend home games. When Sarah becomes pregnant and the long-term stability of their relationship becomes a crucial issue, she forces Paul to decide what he loves more: Sarah and their baby, or Arsenal? For Paul, the answer isn't as simple as one might imagine, as he weighs the joys and responsibilities of adulthood against the passionate enthusiasm that sustained him through his youth. Fever Pitch was based on the semi-autobiographical book by Nick Hornby, who has a cameo as a football coach. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The British "football" played in Fever Pitch is better known as "soccer" to Americans, but while the words are different, the feelings a sports fan has for his or her favorite team are universal. It's this quality that Fever Pitch captures perfectly. If viewers can accept the idea that a diehard soccer fan would even have to consider the dilemma of Paul Ashworth (Colin Firth) -- choosing a wife and child over a seat to the Big Game -- then they are going to enjoy the grittily realistic, painfully funny complications that Paul is compelled to manage in his life. If, on the other hand, such a choice is not even remotely familiar to one's manner of thinking, see Pitch anyway to open a window onto the narrow-minded, lunatic world of sports fanatics. With its superbly controlled acting (Ruth Gemmell could be Emma Thompson's younger sister), its arch period settings (there are long flashbacks to the 1960s and '70s), and its convincingly constructed examination of one man's fanaticism to a team (which has its origins in his relationship with his estranged father), it is perhaps the best sports movie made from a fan's perspective. The film's sports aspects, coupled with its romantic elements, create a film with broad appeal. And if nothing else, the soundtrack includes stellar period hits by the Pretenders, the Who, Fine Young Cannibals, and the Smiths. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
Holly Aird - Jo; Ken Stott - Ted, the Headmaster; Stephen Rea - Ray, the Governor; Charles Cork; Richard Claxton; Luke Aikman; Bob Curtiss; Annette Ekblom; Bea Guard; Peter Quince
Credit
Karen Wakefield - Art Director, Liora Reich - Casting, Mary-Jane Reyner - Costume Designer, Richard Whelan - First Assistant Director, David Evans - Director, Scott Thomas - Editor, Nik Powell - Executive Producer, Stephen Woolley - Executive Producer, Nick O'Hagan - Line Producer, Boo Hewerdine - Composer (Music Score), Neill MacColl - Composer (Music Score), Michael Carlin - Production Designer, Chris Seager - Cinematographer, Amanda Posey - Producer, Jim Greenhorn - Sound/Sound Designer, Aad Wirtz - Sound/Sound Designer, Nick Hornby - Screenwriter, Nick Hornby - Book Author
Hornby adapted the book for the screen and fictionalized the story, concentrating on Arsenal'sFirst Division championship-winning season in 1988-89 and its effect on the protagonist's romantic relationship. Firth plays "Paul Ashworth", the character based on Hornby, a teacher at a school in North London, and his burgeoning romance with Sarah Hughes (Ruth Gemmell), a new teacher who joins Ashworth's school. The film culminates with the real life events of Arsenal's match against title rivals Liverpool in the final game of the season on May 26, 1989, a Michael Thomaslast-minute goal giving Arsenal the 2–0 win they needed to win the title.
The film also starred Neil Pearson as Paul's father, and Mark Strong as Steve, Paul's best friend. Nick Hornby himself has a cameo role as a beaten opposition manager in a School football match in one scene. Parts of the film were shot on location in the surroundings of Arsenal Stadium in Highbury; however as the terracing at Highbury had since been replaced, the scenes of fans on the terraces were instead filmed at Fulham's Craven Cottage stadium.
