Bend it like beckham, not what you think

You may initially think that Bend It Like Beckham is a story about an upcoming soccer prodigy expressing their love for David Beckham, however this is not the case. “ Bend It”, from the title led me to believe events in their life will cause drama among friends and family. Rather it’s a moving portrayal of giddy romance, drama and sporting fun that is an audience-pleaser. Personally, I wouldn’t watch it again, but it was a good contrast of sporting life and reality. If you’re a person interested in a fun, silly family soccer romance then this is the movie for you!

It is an exciting, up-beat, romantic drama movie that covers aspects you wouldn’t normally associate with a soccer film. The producers, Gurinder Chadha and Deepak Nayar, developed the story of a teenage girl battling through life and her love for soccer. They drew attention by creating drama and suspicion through events in the movie. The poorly-scripted movie conveys the concept of, “ Having the courage to be who you are, no matter what people think of you”.

The storyline is full of drama and suspicion, however there are lots of confusing plot twist which aren’t properly answered throughout the film, making it messy and difficult to follow. Besides from that, the storyline is simple and clear. The amusing, entertaining, yet complex storyline is believable, however unrealistic. The movie follows Jess, a soccer star who gets recruited by a local women’s soccer team in London. Together she and her friends play out the soccer season while Jess discreetly hides the fact that she’s playing for an organised soccer team from her family while dealing with the pressures of school, family, sport and teenage love. Most can relate to this, the pressures of life and other’s expectations. Nevertheless the romantic tension between Jess and her soccer coach is unsettling.

For a soccer-based movie the action soccer scenes were horrendous. The camera work in these scenes don’t show a clear representation of the game. The camera draws away from the game to a players face for a single moment, with no purpose at all. The scenes are confusing hard to follow and is disappointing to see the lack of effort applied in these scenes.

Parminder Nagra is a sub-par actress who played her character like a 13-year-old. Parminder’s character Jess is an upcoming soccer star of a traditional Indian family. She is determined, persistent and knows what she wants. Kiera Knightley’s exceptional performance adds personality to the poorly-scripted storyline. Kiera played Jules (short for Juliette) who is a soccer star playing for an organised soccer team in London. Jules is confident, skilled and loyal. Finally, Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ appalling performance made most of the scenes he was in less convincing and irrelevant. Jonathan Rhys Meyers character, Joe is a supportive, warm-hearted and committed coach. He assists Jess and Jules with their soccer skills becoming closer to each of them.

Personally, this film was difficult to watch. The storyline was complex and all over the place. The characters were unpredictable, and the acting was sub-par. The film was tolerable purely due to Kiera Knightley’s character and acting. Aside from that the plot was confusing, characters were poorly written and portrayed and some scenes were atrocious