Next Goal Wins (2023)

 

Next Goal Wins (2023)

Director: Taika Waititi

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Oscar Kightley, Kaimana

Short Review, no spoilers

A typically funny and endearing film from Taika Waititi, the New Zealand director ventures in to the tricky realm of sports film and wins. In expanding his interest for elevating the little man from Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Jojo Rabbit, he demonstrates that he’s very well placed to honourably portray a redemptive story about what were once described as the world’s worst football team, the American Samoan national side. The performances all round are delightful and a dedicated Michael Fassbender strikes a perfect balance between comedy and pathos as the previously successful but troubled coach sent to turn things around. Although a standard David and Goliath story where the Goliath is the team’s aim to score their first goal of all time as well as other things, it’s also a non-elitist diversion that playfully contrasts the easy-going ethos of a tiny country in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with the high stress, high-aiming ambitions of the white western world.

Full Review (spoilers)

Taika Waititi’s brand of goofy humour may not be to the tastes of all but the open-minded will be rewarded if they allow themselves to enjoy the director’s attention to daft but irreverent and affectionate detail. Waititi himself opens proceedings as the character of a priest and representative of the island’s deep-seated faith, but goes on to allow the rest of the colourful ensemble cast to build a picture of a small, characterful nation. Wiry, highly strung Thomas Wrongen (Fassbender) arrives from the US after a humiliating meeting with national football top dogs to a warm greeting from the American Samoan team president, Tavita, who also serves as a restaurateur and cameraman for the local news program. This dopy, cosily benign overseer introduces him to a team of varying shapes, sizes and talent, including one of their top players who also happens to be transgender, the beautiful but unfocused Jaiyah, and an endearing but hopelessly gentle current coach with the woefully inadequate name Ace. As the project progresses, Wrongen discovers that all of the individuals involved in representing their nation need to have other jobs, revealing a view of the bottom end of a football spectrum increasingly driven by lop-sided millions.

The training montage is hilarious and opens Fassbender’s remarkably authentic turn as a stressed-out football coach. Sports movie cliches are sent up in references to Any Given Sunday but overall there is surprisingly fresh and entertaining new life brought to the genre without resorting relentlessly to knowing nods. Kaimana as Jaiyah is charismatic and the inevitable obstacles faced by her character are handled sensitively without topical contrivance, and there is tear-jerking pathos in an unexpected revelation from Wrongen when forced to admit his own tragic hang-up.

Gratefully there is no use of the word togetherness but instead a much improved and stirring pre-match war dance that demonstrates the sentiment rather than describes it. Here the standard climactic contest that proves improvement is a qualifier against rivals Tonga, a finale that maintains the ongoing humour with a well-constructed dramatic tension, and even finds an inventively oddball way to convey success – for instance, look to the background and you will see a relaxed man waiting for treatment for a knife injury as we discover the team’s fortunes. Don’t worry, it’s all good – he raises a bottle of beer to the team triumph.

Next Goal Wins isn’t a life-changer but it’s a lot of fun and a significant entry in to the sports movie genre. It also offers the opportunity for some pleasingly light relief from Fassbender that betrays a talent for comedy, much as it did for Scarlett Johanssen in Jojo Rabbit.