Sports movies, with very few exceptions are usually dire fare, and football movies in particular tend to be nonsensical montages weaved around clichéd sub plots. "Goal !" doesn't entirely eradicate these problems but its does make a substantially better fist of it that any that have gone before. It has to be said that one of the most significant reasons for this considerable improvement was the choice of the hugely experienced Lucinda Syson as casting director. Kuno Becker in the lead role was a revelation, not only did he have the acting chops to cruise through the non-football segments but he was entirely plausible as a player, with the build and movement of a decent professional. Anna Friel was perfect as the Geordie love interest and one of the most pleasing performances in the movie was Marcel Iures as Newcastle manager, Erik Dornhelm. Iures' research for the role was obviously extensive and he came over as a perfect amalgam of Mourinho, Wenger and Eriksson, with his authority and intelligence to the fore every time he was on screen. A special mention also has go to Alessandro Nivola who I didn't know or recognise prior to watching the movie and it was only while browsing through DVD special features that I saw to my surprise that he was in fact, American. He had absolutely mastered the London accent and was entirely convincing as the over-paid, over-sexed Cockney wide-boy. To the plot and the action then, both of which were mostly satisfactory and often appealing but quite some way short of perfect. While it was at least remotely conceivable that an amateur player from the barrio could be spotted and coaxed to the U.K., it was after Munez' arrival in Newcastle that the contrivances happened a little too regularly, the most blatant being his overwhelming luck at being in the taxi that was called off course to pick up a wayward star and the second chance that came with that startling co-incidence. The football action was as convincing, in my opinion, as any "staged" football will ever get, and this was helped by weaving footage of the actors into genuine game tape, a process which, it has to be said, was done almost seamlessly and is unlikely to be bettered. In summary then, Danny Cannon has made a pleasing movie, with a great cast, that at long last does some justice to the world's biggest game. It's not perfect, but its fast, it's fun and for the most part, fairly convincing.
