by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
Bill Nighy’s been making some interesting choices lately, and I love it.
If you need proof, let me present to you the last two new releases I watched him in (reverse order). At the 2023 Oscars, he was nominated (and deservingly so) for his lead role in Living. It’s a powerful, emotional performance filled with depth. Then, earlier this year, he shows up for a cup of coffee in Role Play,and proceeds to be the best part of that ridiculous movie (and probably the main reason I can say I kind of liked it).
So when I saw he’s leading a sports movie which tells the tale of a soccer event I’ve never even heard of, that was all the convincing I needed.
In The Beautiful Game, Nighy plays Mal, the coach of the England team for the Homeless World Cup — a real event that that takes place annually, bringing together teams of homeless from all around the world in a four-on-four street soccer competition that mirrors the elimination format of the World Cup. He makes a late addition to the squad in Vinny (Micheal Ward), a possible ringer whose got a lot to learn about being a team player.
First and foremost, as someone who was completely unfamiliar with a competition that’s been held for 20 years at this point, I loved the education and awareness that the film provides. Providing an opportunity for those in the homeless population to shine on a global stage is an awesome conceit. What that truly means to them is evident through the screen.
The message of this move is also great. We love an underdog story and the passion sport can bring out of us. Specifically for this story, we get to see how much this chance means to the participants, and what the sport allows them to experience, despite the hardships of their personal situation back home. Using the device of the tournament, the film highlights a multitude of stories embodied by the participants. With this at the heart of the movie, it has the audience easily rooting for our main protagonists (and even their nominal opponents), and creates characters you can’t help but get behind.
The film gets a lot of mileage out of my curiosity about something I’d never heard about and whose message I found to be really worthwhile. Because if you’re going to judge this one on a purely cinematic standard, there’s a lot that left me frustrated.
My frustrations can largely be boiled down to everything not based on a true story: the story’s a dramatization, using the real event as a skeleton for the premise. However, none of the dramatized aspects delve below surface level. I got bits and pieces about the other members of the team, or really any character that’s not Mal or Vinny, just enough to where I could get a little investment, but not enough to where I could buy in fully. Even with Mal and Vinny, though, I never really felt I got as invested as the movie wanted me during moments of melodrama, outside of the initial investment I got from the premise alone. That means, unfortunately, none of the performances really stand out. either. The best you could say for anyone really is that they’re fine.
I’m chalking what doesn’t work here down largely to the formula. Though the event itself is new and intriguing, the story it’s presented in is one you’ve seen if you’ve seen in every sports movie ever. Granted, sports movies usually get their floor raised just because I’m generally more predisposed to enjoy them. This is no exception. However, when the script goes for the dramatic, it’s a turn or a “twist” that’s about as surprising as the sky being blue.
There’s also no reason for this movie to be longer than two hours.
What I kept coming back to, though, is there’s no denying that the film succeeds at its main goal: It hooked me in and got me interested in learning more about the event. (Producer Colin Farrell serves as an ambassador for The Homeless World Cup.)
Should the I let the fact that I’m a soccer fan and driven to learn more about this wonderful event influence my rating on a movie that, if I tried to look at it objectively, is probably just okay?
No.
Am I going to let it anyway?
Yes.
But, hey, admitting you have the bias in the first place is the real important part, right?
Rating: Liked It
The Beautiful Game is currently streaming on Netflix, and you can follow me down a Homeless World Cup rabbit hole here
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Twitter and Letterboxd