‘Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In’ review: Dir. Jason Ferguson (2021) [GFF]

Perhaps the definitive documentary about Britain’s best ever manager, and definitely the most personal, Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In sees the great Scot reflect on his life in a two hour feature directed by his own son, Jason.

Football documentaries can be such tricky affairs. They are difficult to get right, and not easily embraced by fans not affiliated or related to the clubs that aren’t involved, let alone appeal the wider cinema-going public. There are notable exceptions; The Asif Kapadia doc. Diego Maradona – a Cannes-showcased effort, or the even more recent Netflix film Pelé, about the Brazilian legend. Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In just about manages fall into that category, too. The Manchester United, Aberdeen and Rangers faithful will no doubt be lining up for tickets, but of course, this one isn’t really about the beautiful game, is it?

Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In sees the now 79-year-old Glaswegian sit down in front of a trusted party – his son, Jason, to talk about his life, both a hugely successful career in football, both as a player and as a manager across many clubs, including that unmatched 27 years as boss of the world’s most famous FC, Manchester United, and as a husband, father, brother, and son. Following a worrying brain haemorrhage in 2018, Ferguson started to fear that he would lose memories, and just weeks into his recovery, the documentary was conceived. The film is essentially Ferguson looking back over his life, from his days growing up in Glasgow to a father working in the local dockyard in the shipbuilding industry, to early days playing the great game for his childhood heroes Rangers, and then his first job as manager in the late 1970s for Scottish club Aberdeen, with whom he would go on to play in and win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, eliminating the mighty Bayern Munich in the 1982/83 season.

Of course, his time at Manchester United is also covered in great detail, leading up to an including his greatest professional moment, lifting the Champion’s League cup in 1999 – their treble-winning year.

There are more personal memories too, marrying wife Cathy in 1966, and having two sons Darren and Jason, both of who provide on-camera interviews. There’s more professional insight from Manchester United’s long-serving player Ryan Giggs, Gordon Strachan and more.

It’s all deeply personal stuff, the viewer feeling like a voyeur on a private conversation between father and son, the two seemingly documenting those memories for themselves rather than a winder audience, and the fact that this is Jason behind the camera sees a different side of Ferguson shine through the screen.

The climax is arguably one the film’s strongest moments, Jason Ferguson and his team assembling a detailed sequence from archive footage set around that fateful Champion’s League final in Barcelona in the spring of 1999. The camera holds on Ferguson as the team trail 1-0 as injury time approaches, then two goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær in the 91st and 93rd minute see United beat Bayern Munich to lift the cup. The camera doesn’t leave Ferguson on the side of the pitch, and we feel every emotion that he does. I was in tears watching one of the greatest five minutes the game has ever seen all over again as the manager goes from almost accepting the loss and planning his post-game speech to being crowned champion of the game at its highest level. I admit those emotions as an Arsenal fan.

Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In continues a theme that has laced this year’s Glasgow Film Festival; be it former SAS serviceman Peter McAleese looking back at the 1980s where he led a team to attempt to assassinate Pablo Escobar in Killing Escobar, or Tina Turner reflecting on a difficult life in the superb music doc. Tina. Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In also sees one of the greatest in his field also pause for thought, and like those other documentaries which feature in a strong year for non-fiction filmmaker, we’re lucky we are able to be able to witness it.

Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In plays at the 2021 Glasgow Film Fetsival. It will then be released in cinemas from 27 May and then available on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and Ireland from 29th May.