Saipan is a 2025 Irish fact-based sports drama, directed by Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa, from a screenplay by Paul Fraser. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, was released in Ireland on Boxing Day, and in the UK on Friday 23 January.

The film is about the personality clash in the Republic of Ireland national football team between captain Roy Keane (Éanna Hardwicke) and manager Mick McCarthy (Steve Coogan) which led to the notorious Saipan incident in the build up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

My memory of the incident is limited – after all it was almost a quarter of a century ago and, although a football fan, I am not Irish. In my recollection of events, Keane had behaved in some way inappropriately and McCarthy had sent him home before the tournament began. However, the film tells a very different story.

Summarising what I saw, Keane wanted the Irish to take the tournament seriously, rather than be treated as loveable also-rans. He was an accomplished footballer and athlete and expected his team-mates to be the same. The Irish FA had completely failed to prepare properly and consequently the facilities on the island of Saipan, where they were to train and acclimatise prior to the finals in Japan, were hopelessly inadequate. Keane blamed McCarthy for this, and this led to an escalating series of clashes between the two egos culminating in Keane leaving. But did he jump or was he pushed?

The problem I have is that this is not a piece of objective journalism but a drama, which seemed to be presented very much from Keane’s perspective. Therefore, if I were to say that I kind of get Keane’s point now, I would have to admit that this may well be that I was simply taken in by the drama.

Hardwicke is excellent as Keane: he looks the part and plays the part with the right level of single-minded aggression that the role requires. Coogan, however seems poorly cast: the problem being that however hard he tries to leave Alan Partridge behind him, traces still remain; he plays McCarthy as a hapless chump who would rather be back home in Barnsley painting a fence.

I felt that this portrayal of McCarthy weakened the drama, however, the failure to flesh out any of the other characters involved (and there was a whole squad present in the background) was more of a problem. It left me with the distinct impression that the film wanted to make a point rather than present the situation.

The subject matter is interesting to football fans and, if you remember the incident and wish to know a little more about it, go along, but whatever you do, do not believe everything you see. If you are looking for a film that stands up as a piece of pure entertainment in its own right, this may not be for you.