Hey folks, Harry here with Capone and his look at BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM. My question is this real football or that footsie game they play in the UK and other places? I think it is probably that footsie game. I suppose it is cute, but nobody's made a footsie movie as good as Stallone and Pele! They ruled!
Hey, Harry. Capone in Chicago here, fulfilling my duty as AICN’s resident art house critic (not by design, I assure you; I’m seeing DAREDEVIL tonight, which will hopefully wash all the artsy-fartsy right out of me). I’m here to talk about a film that’s already been a qualified indie hit across the pond. We got MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING; the UK got BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM.
The Beckham in question is of course British football god David Beckham (married to Skinny Spice or whatever her name is), but he mostly appears only on the television of his Number One fan Jess Bhamra, an Indian-British teenaged girl living with her more traditional Indian family. Jess (short for Jesminder) is a talented football player in her own right, but her strict parents discourage her from playing even for fun because they’re afraid it will hurt her chances at finding a suitable man to marry. Her sister is preparing for her own marriage and is neck-deep in planning. One afternoon, Jess is spotted playing football with a group of guys in the park by Jules (the gorgeous Keira Knightley, who will soon be seen in filmed version of THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN), who plays on a semi-pro women’s football team. She convinces her coach (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, in what might be his first “normal” role) to let Jess join the team despite her not getting her parents’ permission.
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM has several stories going on at one. Jess becomes a world-class player while bolding lying and deceiving her parents about where she disappears to every afternoon after school. But the film also dives into the Jules’ life (her clueless motheris afraid her daughter has become a lesbian), the coach’s life, and Jules’ family’s lives. The film manages to balance what amounts to lightweight material with more serious subject. There are no stereotypes here. These characters are more richly drawn than you might expect. This isn’t exactly THE HOURS, but it does have a few things to say about women’s role in sports, as well as British and Indian culture. With the lack of any professional women’s football team in the UK (at least at the time when the film is set), Jules and Jess dream of an American scout seeing them play and drafting them into a professional U.S. league. Leaving on her own for American would absolutely devastate Jess’ parents, but not going would do the same to her. And did I mention the ass-whooping football matches? Most of the actors playing Jess’ team are real British women’s football players. It’s no SHAOLIN SOCCER, but it’s still pretty exciting stuff.
The whole film feels authentic. There’s a full-blown, glorious Indian wedding with same great music, dancing, and color. Jess appeases her mother’s wishes by learning to cook some scrumptious-looking Indian food. The authenticity is due entirely to co-writer/director Gurinder Chadha, who stunning me with the single best film I’ve ever seen about Indian women in England, BHAJI ON THE BEACH, in 1993. She also made the deservedly forgettable U.S. film WHAT’S COOLING? in 2000, and thought that was going to be the end of her career. But BECKHAM is a return to form, filling the screen with characters we don’t often see up there. There’s a simple beauty and message to the movie that hopefully will catch fire with American audiences. There’s never really any doubt how the film will end. It’s definitely got feel-good on its mind, but just because you know the way somewhere doesn’t mean it’s not a fun trip. Here’s hoping BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM is the first art house hit of 2003. I believe it opens March 14.
Capone
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