SAN ANTONIO — If, like me, you’re bound to stop Netflix’s happy-go-lucky “The Beautiful Game” 15 minutes in to Google whether there’s really such a thing as a Homeless World Cup in which the down-on-their-luck from various countries compete in a soccer tournament that’s more about empowering some of the world’s most vulnerable rather than the fight of fierce competition, let me answer now for you: There is! Yet given how eager the film is to extol virtues of representation while exploring the tourney through the eyes of Team England’s newest player, the skeptical but undeniably talented Vinny (Micheal Ward), bearing as large a chip on his shoulder as he has a pep in his striking step, a more pressing question arises: How can “The Beautiful Game” create memorable drama from of an event created to put kindness without limits on a pedestal?
The solution director Thea Sharrock and writer Frank Cottrell Boyce opt for: Splitting their objective directly down the middle. With “The Beautiful Game” they offer a half-movie-length PSA shot and edited like a credit card commercial but situationally aware enough to highlight the range of experiences that could result in homelessness, before suddenly remembering their protagonist and scrambling to put together a narrative motivated more by character and less by platitudes.
Team England – which includes a player recovering from drug abuse and another who’s a war refugee – could have used some of those front-end minutes to make us care more deeply for their characters beyond a lonely guitar solo here and dramatic silhouette shot there, and it’s hard not to think for most of the runtime that a full-on documentary approach might've been more effective. That’s especially true as "The Beautiful Game" churns out a whole roster of side characters we’re desperate to spend more time with. Among them: a determined Japanese coach endlessly practicing her English trash talk and a U.S.A. Dreamer with much more riding on a solid showing at the tournament than just personal pride. You can see how these might be stories borrowed from real participants. That may fit with the movie’s it’s-all-good-here ethos, but wouldn’t it make more sense for a series of episodes devoting time to each story?
Sharrock previously directed the animal-breakout movie “The One and Only Ivan” in 2020, which might’ve only moved hearts because its straightforward sentimentality was what the world needed at the time. She’s a storyteller perfectly content with tuning up classical feel-good storytelling rhythms that might one day draw in big audiences but currently don’t leave much of a lasting impression. “The Beautiful Game,” for what it’s worth, eventually manages to find some sparks of credibility in its final minutes, thanks mostly to Bill Nighy’s sheer force of will as a former soccer scout seeking redemption and Boyce crafting just enough of an arc for Vinny, who is scared to tell his family he sleeps in a car and struggles to see his teammates for the humans they are in their cleats. “The Beautiful Game” is as much about Vinny’s Humility Olympics as it is the Homeless World Cup, yet it isn’t his journey that grabs our attention initially; it’s a distinctly chipper tone established through editing and music that insists these people aren’t asking for our sympathy. I don’t deny this movie’s heart. It’s the gameplan I’m pulling out a red card for.
"The Most Beautiful Game" is rated PG-13 for some language, a suggestive reference, brief partial nudity and drug references. It's out now on Netflix. Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes.
Starring Michael Ward, Daniel Attwell, Beckett Handley, Bill Nighy
Directed by Thea Sharrock. Written by Frank Cottrell Boyce
2024
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