The past couple of months have been quite educational, with respect to sport I’d never previously encountered: first adventure racing, in Arthur the King; and now the Homeless World Cup.
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| The bulk of England's Homeless World Cup team — from left, Jason (Sheyi Cole), Cal (Kit Young), Nathan (Callum Scott Howells), Kevin (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) and Aldar (Robin Nazari) — watch with a blend of awe and disgust as their newest teammate struts his stuff. |
The playing field follows the rules of street soccer, on a pitch 72-by-52 feet (as opposed to international soccer’s 110-120 by 70-80 yards). The result is a faster, high-action and high-scoring format. Annual tournaments began in 2003, until canceled by Covid; they resumed in 2023, with that year’s World Cup held right here in Sacramento. (Would that I had known!)
Writer Frank Cottrell Boyce has been trying to get his script made into a film for more than a decade; this heartwarming little film helmed by director Thea Sharrock is the long-awaited result. (In a total change of pace, she also directed Wicked Little Letters, also reviewed this week.)
Boyce’s characters are entirely fictitious, but the environment in which they’re placed — notably, the ramp-up to World Cup play, and the challenges faced by typical participants — is rigorously accurate. As a cherry on top, many of the players in non-speaking roles are former Homeless World Cup participants, who now are no longer homeless.
The story begins as Mal Bradley (Bill Nighy) — a retired footballer, now manager of England’s Homeless team — readies players for his 12th shot at top position, with this year’s tournament to be played in Rome. The team includes Nathan (Callum Scott Howells), Cal (Kit Young), Jason (Sheyi Cole), Aldar (Robin Nazari) and Kevin (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor). As the film begins, Mal persuades a reluctant Vinny (Micheal Ward) to complete the half-dozen.
This doesn’t go over well with the others, who’ve bonded during (we assume) several preceding months. Living down to their worst expectations, Vinny has a chip on his shoulder the size of Montana, and clearly believes himself superior to the others (which proves true, but is beside the point). Worse yet, Vinny contemptuously feels no need to acknowledge that there’s no “I” in “team,” and he rebuffs efforts at kumbaya friendliness.
In short, he’s a horse’s ass.
Boyce’s script divides its attention between Mal’s team and two others: the top-notch but currently beleaguered South African team, headed by an imposing nun (Susan Wokoma, as Protasia), all of whom are stuck in bureaucratic travel hell; and the Japanese team, headed by long-suffering manager Mika (Aoi Okuyama), who can’t get her misfit, rag-tag players to take things seriously.
They’d much rather tour Rome and goggle at all the sights.
Wokoma is a force of nature, blessed with the world’s warmest smile, but woe to anybody who gets in Protasia’s way. But we grieve for Mika, poor thing; Okuyama’s crestfallen despair, over her management inadequacies, is palpable. She simply tries too hard.
Once the eliminations begin, the sports action is fast, furious and quite fun to watch. That said, stories of this nature live or die on the basis of how much we come to care about the characters. Nighy is the stand-out, of course, for numerous reasons. He delivers Mal’s guidance with a dry blend of empathy, coaxing charm and occasional tough love.
Nighy also is the master of a deadpan quip, as when Vinny accuses him of thinking solely about victory: “You’re desperate to win.”
“Well,” Mal reflects, “I wouldn’t object.”
Nobody could have delivered that line better.
Mal takes time, when by himself, for contemplative talks with his long-dead wife: a poignant touch matched by the mildly flirty banter he exchanges with fiery Gabriella (the radiant Valeria Golino), head of the competition and proud booster of her host Italian team.
Sidebar stories include a focus on the simple, soulful Nathan, a recovering heroin addict struggling to stay sober; Howells’ performance is heartbreaking. Unfortunately, Vinny’s treatment of this vulnerable individual becomes something we cannot forgive. Ward cannot be blamed for the way his character has been scripted, but the result is calamitous, and throws what should be a feel-good film badly out of balance.
Far better: the clumsy manner in which besotted Jason attempts to woo feisty American player Rosita (Cristina Rodlo), after a particularly embarrassing first encounter. Cole and Rodlo have cute chemistry, well exploited by Sharrock, and it’s fun to watch Jason try to make up for his initial mistake.
Adem Ilhan’s rousing score is blended with inspirational songs by, among many others, The Clash, Chaka Khan, The White Stripes and — most particularly — Paul Simon, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Aretha Franklin’s poignant cover of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
Sharrock builds her film to a climactic, action-laden finale, which proves unexpected but is wholly satisfying. That said, I’m not sure one character deserves such an outcome.
Boyce was inspired to write his script after seeing the 2008 documentary Kicking It, narrated and executive-produced by (among many others) Colin Farrell; he’s also one of this drama’s producers. The earlier film makes an excellent companion piece, and is readily available via video-on-demand outlets.
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