Bend it Like Beckham

Well, heres a film for the family and its not Disney-television bland. Its the underdog against multiple barriers, race, sex and tradition. The playing field is literarily football, but its not American football, its English football or what we would call soccer. True, the game sequences and film editing would not hold up to careful scrutiny, but whose gonna nit-pick when were having so much fun with the story. Besides, Gurinder Chadha who wrote the screenplay and directed the film, tells us during her DVD Special Features interview that the actors got so involved in the game against the German girls team that they forgot they were acting and played to win. She and the other filmmakers were afraid theyd lose an actor to a sports injury. Thats the Stanislavsky method in spades and its that total immersion in their roles that enables these actors to bring this story alive on the screen.

This film is a rush from the start. In fact, the dialogue was so quick during the first half hour that I had to stop the DVD several times to read the close captions. But then the dialogue slowed down while the story just got more intense.

The story revolves around a young woman in an Indian family, but unlike Monsoon Wedding (2001) or Lagaan (2001), this entire story takes place in England. And it is somewhat autobiographical in that the director as a young woman also stepped out of Indian traditions and she grew up and frequented many areas shot in the film.

Much of this story will resonate with every family in the world. What the Indian mom says could have just as easily come from an Irish or Jewish or Italian mom. Jess dad could be every dad who loves his daughters. And I really enjoyed the festive Panjabi Indian marriage ceremony and party. It was every bit as colorful and exciting as the wedding that was the focus of Monsoon Wedding (2001). I see something earthy and good in these traditional formalities. And it was just as noisy and chaotic as my family is when they all get together. If I squinted, at the Panjabi dance scene, I could imagine a crowded dance floor at a rock-n-roll bar, or a mosh pit, but thats probably going too far.

I thought the families were characterized as being a little too naive. I could understand the Indian family being unaware because of their traditional mind set, but the English mom was portrayed as unrealistically foolish and silly. However this is English comedy and it is a minor part of the story. So the film gets my recommendation.

Parminder Nagra plays Jessminder (Jess) the protagonist and she carries the emotion of this film in her eyes. This was her first film after some TV work and she is in her mid twenties. Keira Knightley plays Jules her English girl friend (or mate). She is ten years younger than Nagra, but has had more experience including a role in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) and a lead as Elizabeth the love interest in Pirates of the Carribean (2003). Jonathan Rhys-Meyers plays Joe, the coach and the apex of the love triangle. Rhys-Meyers had his film debut in A Man of No Importance (1994). He is an actor to watch.

David Beckham is a real person; a real football star and he recently signed a 24.5M contract with a Spanish team. His free-kick into the goal is known around the world as the Beckham. It bends.

Reviewed October 1, 2003