The 2026 FIFA World Cup starts in just over four months.  It’s considered one of the biggest sporting events in the world… if not the biggest.  Thousands of journalists around the world will churn out coverage and the football-loving population will have their say when talking to friends about match predictions, team selections, and questionable referring decisions.  It’s theatre at its finest!

The release of Saipan is timely as it transports us back to the 2002 World Cup when Ireland had qualified for just the third time in the country’s history.  It should have been a period of intense national pride but the lead up was marred by a stoush between the team captain, 30-year-old star Roy Keane, and the team coach, Mick McCarthy.  It took place on the small island of Saipan, in the western Pacific Ocean, as the team acclimatised for the hot temperatures they were expecting to face in Japan and South Korea.

Directed by Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Darros D’Sa, Saipan opens with a great, scene-setting montage of actual talkback radio interviews where members of the public weighed in on the “soap opera” that dominated Irish news.  Unfortunately, it’s a high point the rest of the film can’t live up to.  What follows is a simple, repetitive reenactment that doesn’t dig into any of the characters in significant depth.  I’d have much preferred a documentary where the real-life people involved, including fellow players and officials, weigh in with their insights.

The film’s theme is that both coach and captain made mistakes.  McCarthy deserves criticism for a shabbily run training camp where the hotel rooms had dodgy air conditioners, the food was subpar, the field was harder than concrete, and there’s a moment where they didn’t even have footballs to practice.  On the flip side, Keane was no saint either.  He arrogantly distanced himself from the other players, leaked details to the press, and refused to make sacrifices for the betterment of the team.  It’s an old-as-time lesson how a small problem can develop into a much bigger one if not addressed early.

Oscar nominee Steve Coogan (Philomena) portrays Mick McCarthy as a man of principles but also a man who lacks managerial skills.  Was he really that black-and-white though?  He comes across as borderline incompetent at times – a fact I find hard to believe.  Irish actor Éanna Hardwicke (The Sixth Commandment) steps into the shoes of the famed Roy Keane and while he does an admirable job depicting his character’s troublesome nature, we don’t get a clear enough understanding of why he has that nature.  Supporting players, which include everyone from golf-loving teammates through to champagne-drinking officials, come across as caricatures. 

Football fans familiar with events may enjoy the perspective offered by screenwriter Paul Fraser but for others, I don’t think there’s enough interesting material to engage with for 90 minutes.