bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Mathew Scott

Bend It Like Beckham

Starring: Parminder K Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Anupam Kher

Director: Gurinder Chadha

Category: IIA

David bloody Beckham. If he's not grinning like a madman from the sports pages after scoring a goal, he's poncing about on the 'style' pages in the sort of clothes that would make Liberace blush. There is an autobiography on the way too - take that as a warning - and now, as if we haven't had enough, there is a film that cashes in on his name as well.

But stay calm. Bend It Like Beckham uses the player in name only. His only appearance is a cameo from a lookalike and we are left with a film that, thankfully, will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy.

Newcomer Parminder K Nagra (above) steals the show as Jess Bhamra, a Beckham-mad Indian girl growing up in suburban London. There's pressure from her parents to do 'what all good Indian girls should do': embark on a respectable career, marry young and start a family. But Jess wants none of it. She's happiest kicking a ball around with the boys in the park and dreams of one day playing for her nation.

The film leans heavily on the trouble this leads Jess into, especially when she is befriended by Jules (Keira Knightley), who lures her on to the local women's team coached by Joe (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) - who captures both girls' hearts. When her family ban her from playing, Jess is forced to decide where her loyalties lie. And this is where the film works its charm - we find Jess is not alone in her struggle to come to terms with what is expected from her. So are others in her community, including her father (Anupam Kher), who has never really come to terms with the role he has to play in his adopted country.

Director Gurinder Chadha immerses herself in family life in all her films, touching on social issues as well without ever getting heavy handed. She produces light entertainment that lets you drift over any cracks in the script simply because everyone seems so enthusiastic about what they are doing. And Bend It Like Beckham is more of the same.

It helps too that Nagra and Knightley mix it up so well as the young girls fighting for their place in society, and that their soccer skills stand up to scrutiny (their time at a Brazilian training camp apparently did the trick). And the support cast seem to be having a ball as well.

Bend It Like Beckham opens today



REVIEWS