The Beautiful Game
Summary
Netflix ’s young sport movie , The Beautiful Game , could not have hail at a better clock time in relation to English football . Last workweek , in the lead up to England ’s peer against Brazil , controversy emerge over Nike ’s decision to change the color of the St George ’s cross on the English home team ’s shirt . Nike ’s invention decision — which was in no way exclusive to the England shirt — lead to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and drawing card of the foe Kier Starmer publicly opposing the change , climaxing in a ill pay heed protestation march through London on the day of the Brazil game .
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Cast
found on a real - life sporting issue , The Beautiful Game is a movie directed by Thea Sharrock and unblock in 2024 . Bill Nighy star as Mal , a bus who direct a chemical group of homeless football player to the Homeless World Cup , where he hopes to lead them to triumph and help them find the beauty within themselves .
The Beautiful Gamereleases against this backdrop of empty flag-waving posturing to prompt us what football ( soccer for American TV audience ) is really all about . The Beautiful Gamedepicts football as a universal speech , fracture down national barriers rather than erecting them . The filmdepicts England ’s attack to win theHomeless World Cup , which are both serve and obstruct by asterisk histrion Vinny ( Micheal Ward ) as he fight to accept his office . While the account is fictional , it was made in collaboration with the Homeless World Cup , and its radical of 2d probability is inspire by real - life stories of former players .
The first Homeless World Cup took position in Ganz , Austria in 2003 , and its 2024 tournament will take position in Seoul , South Korea .
The Beautiful Game Brings The Homeless World Cup’s Message To A Global Audience
Writer Frank Cottrell Boyce dexterously weaves the deputation statement of the Homeless World Cup into the story , choose four team that play up the different global definitions of homelessness . While the England team is the primary focus , we ’re introduce to the US team via Rosita ( Cristina Rodlo ) , an undocumented teenager who is a prospective Dreamers scholar . And then there ’s the more fledged Japanese team , who reflect the overwhelming number of midsection - senior and elderly men see homelessness in Japan . South Africa , meanwhile , is retard by their own moulding force due to objection to a migrant from Zimbabwe being on their national squad .
The glimpses into the backstories of the other squad contemplate these dissimilar globose communities with thriftiness and empathy .
Boyce never create anything larger than these sketch of the homeless experience , but he does n’t have to . The glimpses into the other teams ' backstories reflect these different globose residential district with economic system and empathy . The stories of the England team are similarly divers , encompassing addiction issues , the unsuccessful person of the UK care system of rules , and statelessness . And then there ’s Vinny , a struggling beginner , alien from his girl and her mother , who defy to see himself as roofless , despite living in his elevator car . Vinny ’s journeying to recognize his circumstance and have the friendship and help of others becomes more important than any trophy .
Many former Homeless World Cup player also appear inThe Beautiful Game , emphasizing the positive wallop that the competition has had on their lives . This sum an excess stratum of authenticity , which is aid by a hand that , for the most part , avoid some of the biggest clichés ofthe sportsman movie genre . That being allege , a last minute revelation about the link between England coach Mal ( Bill Nighy ) and champion player Vinny jeopardise to nock an own goal . It ’s a clunky twist that mercifully supply a touch epiloguerather than becoming a number one wood for the movie ’s climactic vista .
Micheal Ward Is The Beautiful Game’s Man Of The Match
yield that Thea Sharrock ’s directingoften feels quite televisual , there ’s a risk that the movie come across as a feature - length commercial message for the Homeless World Cup . However , Top Boy ’s Micheal Wardlends the film a great deal of dramatic heft that helps liftThe Beautiful Gameabove such criticism . Vinny is a complicated character , slew from cold and stand - offish to unlimited brutal . His disgust at apportion a elbow room with recover heroin junky Nathan ( Callum Scott Howells ) builds to Vinny doing something so uncaring that it has major implications for his team .
Micheal Ward and Bill Nighy ’s understated performances create a fascinating dynamic that palpate quite new for a sport motion picture .
play by Callum Scott Howells , who give the hearts of audiences asIt ’s A Sin ’s Colin , does likewise devastating employment here , which endanger to completely turn the audience against Vinny . However , Ward ’s quiet portrayal of Vinny ’s guilt feelings over his action is the first moment that we see the cracks in his armor . Vinny ’s armor draws comparisons with the avuncular front that his director Mal puts up . Both men have similarly adopted a window dressing to hide their simmer resentments and acrid letdown . Ward and Bill Nighy ’s minimise performance create a bewitching dynamic that finger quite raw for a fun movie .
Nighy is n’t convincing as a football manager with a barbarous pique , but he clamber in the second where Mal has to deliver learning moments to an angry and unpredictable Vinny . While Nighy and Ward are the standouts , their squad is bolstered by some other strong performances . In addition to Howells , there ’s Kit Young as Cal , who supply a bewitching contrast to Vinny , which induce hostility at first but mellows into a fruitful partnership on the sales talk . Robin Nazari ’s Syrian refugee Aldar and Sheyi Cole ’s Jason prove to be the team ’s head and heart , each getting their own instant to shine .
Threatening to slip the show from everyone , however , is Susan Wokoma , who play South African manager Protasia . The fact that this cheery and charismatic womanhood of God has a fierce contention with Nighy ’s Mal is the stark demonstration of the Homeless World Cup ’s uniqueness . It ’s in truth a rival that is open to people from all backgrounds , creating a truly equal playing field . WhileThe Beautiful Gamecan often experience like a commercial message for an confessedly baronial cause , the script and performance deliver a relatable human story of dashed dreams and 2d luck that cue us why such charity are vital .
The Beautiful Gameis available to stream on Netflix March 29 .
