The problem with Believe is you simply won’t believe any of it – unless you’re a child

The trouble with Believe is that, unless you are ten years old or under, which I’m assuming you are not, you won’t believe. Not for a second. Not for a minute. Not a word of it. This doesn’t see itself as a children’s film and isn’t being marketed as a children’s film, which means I can’t be kind and generous about it, as I might be about an actual children’s film, if I were in a charitable mood. (Rare, but it can happen. Or at least I think it did happen, once.)

The film had been ‘inspired by actual events’, or so I’d read, and follows Sir Matt Busby, the legendary Manchester United manager, coming out of retirement to coach a group of young working-class lads. From this, I’d assumed it would be one of those smart, Peter Morgan-style scripts that ditches the usual biopic narrative and instead captures the essence of someone’s character by honing in on a particular period of their life.