Looking for Eric

By Pardeep Plaha

Summary • Looking for Eric is a film about a middle-aged postman that has a

poor relationship with his children and wife. He is obsessed with this footballer Eric Cantona and somehow this footballer appears as his conscious, giving him self-confidence and turning his life around.

Distribution of Looking for Eric

• Icon productions are an American independent production company founded in August 1989.

Link to trailer:

What different potential audiences did they identify for the film?

The first potential audiences could be Manchester United fans as the main character supports Man Utd and he idolises one of the successful players. Another potential audience could be females as there is a love story between him and his ex-wife as stereotypically females are drawn to emotional love stories. Ken Loach fans could also be a potential audience for this film as he is a well-known UK director.

What did the SWOY analysis reveal? Elaborate and explain some points.

There were many positives and negatives aroused by the SWOY analysis. The positives were that the director Ken Loach is well known and he already has a fan base so the film would appeal to a guaranteed audience bringing in some profit. Another positive would be the comedic element to the film, as it’s about a quite depressing postman; the comedy livens up the atmosphere, hopefully drawing in a wider audience.

The weaknesses that were aroused were that the film has a documentary feel and is more gritty than glamorous which may not appeal to some people. Having Eric Cantona can be a strength and weakness as Man Utd fans will be interested in this film but people who do not support Manchester United may be put off the film without giving it a chance. Another weakness would be the film 44 inch chest which is a similar film being released at the same time, so the film would have to have something unique and appealing to stand out.

The opportunities were that it was release at the end of football season which would mean football fans would have nothing to watch and may see this football film and develop an interest for it. It is also supported by the Cannes Film Festival which means it has a guaranteed source of exhibition.

Draft poster for Looking for Eric

• Ken Loach fans:

The design of this poster is quite simplistic. You have Eric Cantona on the left standing at an angle and staring straight at the camera and then you have the main character on the left staring off camera. Cantona is dressed all in black and looks presentable, this contrasts with the main character that looks scruffy and is holding a Cantona mask. This suggests that Cantona is more sophisticated and looks after himself, whereas the main character doesn’t really care for his appearance and the mask symbolises that maybe he wants to be someone else.

The text is on a brick wall and the whole image is in black and white. The font style is basic and goes with the brick wall as it is very vertical and square. This makes the film have a rough feel as it looks like they are standing in a back alley somewhere in the UK. It suggests the very stereotypical ‘rough UK urban’ lifestyle. The tagline says ‘It all began with a beautiful pass….from Cantona’ this tagline was used to appeal to football fans of Cantona as his character is shown as more important.

This poster was made to target Ken Loach fans, his name is in bold just below the title. The black and white effect makes the poster look sophisticated and caters more to a middle class audience which is the social class of most Ken Loach fans. I think that this poster is partly successful at appealing to Ken Loach fans but it may also appeal to football fans by the use of Cantona as the focus.

Football fans:

The design of this poster is very simplistic as it is of the main character standing with his back to us with a white background. The title is at the top, in big bold block capitals which stands out from quite a distance. The title is red matching the colour of Manchester Utd football team. This signifies that this poster is targeting a football based audience.

The tagline says ‘It all started with a beautiful pass…from Cantano’ which suggests that this film is about football and it may star the infamous footballer. It also has ‘A film by Ken Loach’ quite prominent placed underneath the title, suggesting that this poster was targeting two sets of audiences.

The main character has his back towards us and is wearing a Manchester Utd football t-shirt with Cantona’s name on the back. This suggests that the main character may be a Cantona fan or even that he may play football himself.

I think that this film poster is successful at appealing to football fans as this is the only theme consistent throughout the poster apart from the Ken Loach reference. This poster could be used to appeal to both audiences.

Romantic/female audience:

The design of this poster is quite unique. It has a washed out image of Cantona in the background and then the main character and his love interest in the front. The title is interesting as it has the main character representing the ‘I’ for Eric and he is cheering in Cantona’s direction. This title represents a noticeable title that may stick in audiences’ head.

The tagline is ‘Everybody has a hero. Some of us find them’ which suggests the main character may see Cantona as his hero which may also suggest the flowers he is holding may not be for his love interest and may in fact be for Cantona. This could appeal to females as they could relate to their partner being obsessed with football and paying more attention to the football than to them.

The main character is standing next to his love interest but looking at the picture of Cantona. He is also holding flowers. The characters love interest looks happy as she may think the flowers he is holding are for her. Cantona looks like his face is on a billboard and he is of more importance than the rest of the characters. Some females may find Cantona attractive which means the image of him may make the film more appealing to them.

I think that this poster is partly successful in trying to target females as stereotypically females are into more romantic films and the fact that there is a female on the poster could draw females to this females. As I said earlier they may find it relatable and want to see this film to hopefully show their partners how much they are obsessed with football.

British audience

The billboard image of Cantona is used again but in a different context. You have him in the background and then the main character with his friends and his love interest in the front. His friends are dressed very scruffy and they look like stereotypical working class British ‘geezers’. They look like football hooligans coming back from watching a football game which is typical working class British culture. This makes it appealing to a wide working class British male audience as they may find it relatable to their lifestyle.

There is also the image of his love interest standing a little further than his friends. This shows that he may be closer to his friends than his love interest. She doesn’t look happy which is also something men can relate to.

I believe this poster is successful at targeting a British audience as it shows a representation of stereotypical working class men in Britain.

Official poster used:

I think that this poster is quite basic compared to the other ones that were made. Even though I believe that simplistic posters are the most effective I think poster fails to represent the meaning of the film.

The title is something I do like as it is unique and noticeable. People will see this title and know exactly what film it is from. The billboard washout of Cantona is another thing I do like as it represents the main character’s obsession with the footballer and will appeal to Cantona fans.

I don’t like the fact that the main character is in the bottom corner just looking at the billboard. Even though it shows that he looks up to the footballer, it doesn’t really create any enigmas for the main character. Personally I believe that posters should make the audience question what is in the film or what the main character is all about but this poster is quite bland.