The Beautiful Game (My Review)

All right, I'm not a sports guy, but when it comes to sports films, I think they manage to present us with inspiring stories, at least the few I've watched. Netflix is presenting The Beautiful Game, which is based on real events surrounding football and the people who play in this one particularly unique league. Mal is the manager of England's homeless football team, taking his players to roam with the hope of being crowned champions of the Homeless World Cup, a global street soccer tournament.

At the last minute, he decides to bring along a talented striker who could give them a real chance at winning, but only if he's ready to let go of his past and become part of the team. So I didn't know that this league existed, but the Homeless Football League takes teams from all over the world and gives them an opportunity to play football and better themselves while also instilling self-confidence and self-esteem. The matches are more like indoor soccer, but with smaller pitches and a shortened game length.

Here we follow Bill Nahia's Mal, the manager for England. Now he's coaching a team, already, but he comes across a talented player that he invites to play along. Michael Ward plays Vinny, and he's a hard one to root for.

The character is abrasive, pompous, entitled, and way too smug with his abilities. And right from the get go, we can tell that his arc is going to be obvious and predictable. But within this story, Vinny's character growth is also so drawn out that it makes him way more of an antagonist than he needs to be.

The progression can be inspiring, but it's also hard to swallow because of how he treats his teammates and how long it takes to sort of learn his lesson. And I say sort of because there is a situation with another teammate that he is directly responsible for, but he never really makes amends. And it was both sad and disappointing and then left a bitter taste in my mouth.

The heart of the story is wonderful, and I appreciate what the film is portraying, showcasing hope and endurance by illustrating individuals overcoming obstacles. And these aren't all about finances or circumstances. And sometimes it's not even the players that are showcasing the growth.

This combined with some of the character stories, that's what keeps this story afloat. And luckily, we get player backgrounds and context that add a ton of needed depth to endear them to us. The characters can be quirky, mildly silly, but the pureness of their hearts creates a beautiful narrative full of warmth and hope.

But with that said, there are a lot of extraneous sequences of B-roll montages. Most of the time, these scenes felt just like they were just taking up time without much, if any, payoff. And this makes the film as a whole drag and then feel extremely long.

It's already lengthy at two hours and five minutes. I mean, in reality, it could have been 90 minutes and still had the very same emotional impact and maybe even more impact because the storytelling would be more efficient. Now, while we do get background on the England players, the several other characters that we encounter, they barely get any development, even though they sometimes get significant screen time.

And again, this works to add time to the storytelling without strengthening the plot. Now, something I enjoyed within this is that it's easy to see and feel some small influences from cool runnings. And sometimes that came in the form of just training montages.

But other times it was the team dynamics as they work to really become a team while also looking at some of those other better functioning teams for their inspiration. I think if you're in the mood for a feel good story and you want something that's a little different, this is a decent watch. Other than the concept, there's not much new in the way that this is presented.

And unfortunately, our main protagonist feels more like an unapologetic villain for so much of the film. The gameplay footage could be showcased more effectively with wider shots and less quick edits. But the matches do capture energy and excitement, even if the visuals are somewhat hard to discern.

Also, the pacing can be a large deterrent to enjoyment, thanks to sequences that drag on for no reason. The inspiring nature of the game's purpose helps to redeem a lot of the shortcomings. But it's still unfortunately not a movie to drop everything to watch.

I think if I'm to rate The Beautiful Game I'll give it two and a half out of five stars.

Images source IMDb