Starring: Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Juliet Stevenson
Director: Gurinder Chandha
Rated: M15+
DAVID Beckham does not make an appearance in Bend it Like Beckham, except in the posters Jess (Parminder Nagra) has of him in her bedroom at home.
She is, nonetheless, the English soccer captain’s number one fan, and she is also a fine football player herself. The problem is that Jess is from a traditional Indian family who live in the shadow of Heathrow Airport in London. Maintaining what they can of their traditional life and values, in the Indian community, women playing soccer is definitely out.
Jess, however, is spotted for her talent by Jules (Keira Knightley) who recruits her for the local all-girl team coached by Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers).
Jess secretly stars in the local competition until both she and Jules are offered football scholarships to universities in the USA.
In her first feature film, director Gurinder Chandha brings an insider’s eye to being a young woman caught between cultures. Her portrait of both worlds is affectionate and charming as the pressure mounts on Jess when her sister Pinky (Archie Panjabi) is married off to a respectable Indian boy.
We get the sense that there is more than a little autobiography about this film. Football is just a topical and colourful metaphor.
Every member of the cast is good, the script is believable and the pace of the film is just right.
Bend it Like Beckham is a small-scale film filled with warmth and laughter but explores the big issues which confront the children of every migrant family. If you want a gentle, entertaining film to see with your teenagers, you’ll score a goal with this one.
