''Will'' is a 2011 British sports drama directed by

Ellen Perry Ellen Perry is an American film director, writer, producer and cinematographer. She attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Her first feature documentary, ''Great Wall Across the Yangtze'', aired nationally on PBS in 2000. Narrated by Martin ...

and starring

Damian Lewis Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February 1971) is an English actor, presenter and producer. He is best known for portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'', which earned him a Golden Globe nomination ...

, Perry Eggleton and Bob Hoskins.

Plot

The film centres on the trials and tribulations in the lives of two main fictional characters: eleven-year-old Will Brennan and Bosnian footballer Alek, and their trek to see

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

play

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...

in the 2005 Champions League Final at the

Atatürk Olympic Stadium The Atatürk Olympic Stadium ( tr, Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadyumu, ) is a stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. Located in the western district of İkitelli, it is the largest-capacity stadium in the country. The stadium is named after Mustafa Kemal Atat ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. Brennan is Liverpool's number one fan, able to recite facts ad infinitum about the club and at a public school in the south of England since his father Gareth (Damian Lewis) is emotionally unable to care for him following the death of Will's mother. Gareth appears one day out of the blue with tickets for Liverpool's trip to the Champions League Final. Unknown to Will his father has health problems and suddenly dies and in his belief that the adults in his life are conspiring to quash his wish to get to the match to honour his father, two of his mates at school start Will on his way for reason of their own. His being missing becomes worldwide news and he encounters others that either support Liverpool or the game of football. One of these is Alek, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, who stopped playing the sport following a tragic incident due to his own actions in his hometown during the Bosnian War. Alek is initially reluctant to get involved for various reason but a friend does his best to encourage Alek to recover from his personal demons by helping Will reach his destination. The two are off on the final leg of the journey stopping along the way in Alek's hometown where they elude police. Although they reach Istanbul they do not have tickets but in the quest to get them Liverpool stars Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard and

Jamie Carragher James Lee Duncan Carragher (; born 28 January 1978) is an English football pundit and former footballer who played as a defender for Premier League club Liverpool during a career which spanned 17 years. A one-club man, he was Liverpool's v ...

, recognise him who come to the rescue and makes possible for Will to realise his dream and much more than he could have imagined if his father's original plans had come to be.

Partial cast

- Gareth * Perry Eggleton - Will * Kieran Wallbanks - Simon * Brandon Robinson - Richie *

Jane March Jane March Horwood (born 20 March 1973) is an English film actress and former model. Early life and education March was born Jane March Horwood in Edgware, London. Her father, Bernard Horwood, was a design and technology secondary school teac ...

- Sister Noell * Bob Hoskins - Davey * Kristian Kiehling - Alek *

Alice Krige Alice Maud Krige (; born 28 June 1954) is a South African actress and producer. Her first feature film role was in '' Chariots of Fire'' (1981) as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon. She played the dual role of Eva Galli/Alma Mobley i ...

- Sister Carmel *

Rebekah Staton Rebekah Staton (born 17 June 1981 in Leek, Staffordshire, England) is an English actress and narrator. She is best known for narrating '' Don't Tell The Bride'' and for her roles as Della in '' Raised by Wolves'' and Katy in ''Home''. She has al ...

- Nancy * Mark Dymond - Detective *

Branko Tomović Branko Tomović ( sr, italic=yes, Бранко Томовић; born June 17, 1980) is a German-Serbian actor and filmmaker. Career He was born in Münster, Germany, though his actual origin is from the Carpathians in Serbia. His parents emigra ...

- Avdo Bilic * Canan Ergüder - Mina Bilic *

Malcolm Storry Malcolm Storry (born 13 January 1948) is an English actor with extensive experience on stage, television, and film. Amongst many roles, he is perhaps best known for 'Yellin' in ''The Princess Bride'', HM Customs Chief Bill Adams on '' The Knock' ...

- Finch *

Neil Fitzmaurice Neil Simon Fitzmaurice (born 20 August 1969) is an English actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his role as Jeff, the love rival of protagonist Mark Corrigan, in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Peep Show''. He has written for a number of ot ...

- Fitzy * John May - Barney *

- Himself * Steven Gerrard - Himself * Kenny Dalglish - Himself

Filming locations

The production filmed in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in May 2010 at the

Port of Ramsgate The Port of Ramsgate (also known as Port Ramsgate, Ramsgate Harbour, and Royal Harbour, Ramsgate) is a harbour situated in Ramsgate, south-east England, serving cross-Channel freight traffic and smaller working and pleasure craft. It is owned an ...

, the Port of Dover and the

White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, depos ...

. The locations feature at the start of Will's journey to

, as he smuggles himself onto a freight lorry in order to cross the sea to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Will 2011 films 2004–05 UEFA Champions League British association football films British sports drama films Films shot at Elstree Film Studios Liverpool F.C. 2010s sports drama films 2011 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films