The Beautiful Game

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

IN A NUTSHELL: Advocates to end homelessness organize an annual tournament for Homeless men and women to compete in a series of soccer matches known as The Homeless World Cup. The film filled with lots of heart and warmth was directed by Thea Sharrock. Writing credits go to Frank Cottrell Boyce. THINGS I LIKED: I adore Bill Nighy, so I wanted to watch the film as soon as I saw the movie poster. He gives an endearing performance and elevates the film. Almost everything he said in the film made me laugh out loud. Other charming cast members include Susan Wokoma, Callum Scott Howells, Kit Young, Sheyi Cole, and Micheal Ward. Colin Farrell was one of the producers. We get to spend time in England and Rome during the film. I love to travel in movies. In this case, I've been to both places and adore them both! Bill Nighy's character stands at the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome and said, 'Everywhere changes, but here it could still be 1983." There's a moment in the movie where one of the characters explains that if you throw a coin over your shoulder and you toss it into the Trevi fountain, you'll come back. I DID do that back in 1983 and returned 30 years later! I absolutely love Rome! It's an especially inspirational story because it's based on the real event! I never knew there was such a thing as the World Homeless Cup! It was invented in 2001. The characters in the story are an amalgamation of real people who competed in the games over a series of years. The film does a great job of sharing messages of inclusion and hope without being too preachy. I love the title and wanted to know how it was going to be used in the film. As it turns out, Bill Nighy says those words when he's talking to someone about the soccer competition in Rome. At the end of the movie, we get to see video clips and pictures of the real people involved in this "beautiful game." The punchy music gives the film energy and excitement, especially during the final rolling credits. THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: The film is unnecessarily long to say what it needs to. There are too many characters to keep track of. Rather than being grateful for the incredible opportunity to play soccer in Rome, one of the characters has a terrible attitude and is rude to everyone on his own team, as well as to other players. I didn't understand that mentality and didn't feel endeared to him at all, yet he was one of the main characters. I was surprised to see how small the soccer field was that the world players competed on. A lot of information was missing in the plot that I wanted to know. TIPS FOR PARENTS: Some British profanity like "****". We see the naked backside of a young man. Talk of drugs. Some Japanese is spoken with subtitles Talk of a male anatomical body part Talk of "Dreamers" (Children of Illegals in the USA)