Believe review

When footie-mad youngster Georgia (newcomer Jack Smith) steals a wallet to raise funds for his team, little does he know he’s robbed legendary Man Utd manager Matt Busby (Brian Cox). Inevitably, the latter – retired, but still haunted by the 1958 Munich air disaster – decides to mentor the scamp.

Football has had such rotten luck on screen that the title of David Scheinmann’s film seem grimly ironic, yet it’s his blind faith in the genre that carries this nimble crowd-pleaser. It’s unashamedly broad, sentimental and clichéd, but Cox anchors proceedings with wit and tenderness, while Smith (who can act and shoot at the same time) adds wonder.