Goal

Synopsis: Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) leaves Mexico at the age of 10 to go as an illegal immigrant to America. Ten years later he is working in his father's gardening business, but playing soccer with a passion. When he is spotted by a British talent scout Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane), he gets himself to Newcastle, England, where he has four weeks to prove whether he is worthy of a spot with the legendary soccer team Newcastle United.

Well, here's a conundrum: a film that is so formulaic, it's almost "film-making by numbers", but one that ends up being highly entertaining, and that said by your trusty writer, who generally loathes any sort of football!

Clichés abound from the word go. Santiago's father Herman (Tony Plana) is the sort of immigrant who trots out lines like "There are two types of people - those who live in big houses and those who mow their lawns." Immediately we see stumbling block number one, the unsupportive father. Then there's Grandma (Mirian Colon), the warm hearted encouraging type who places her favourite necklace around San's neck for good luck. Further along we discover San has an asthma problem as he furtively puffs on his inhaler, but is observed by the nasty guy of the team. I suspect I could have written the ensuing scene myself! Then we have the archetypal bad (but talented) boy of Newcastle United, Gavin Harris (Allesandro Nivola), whose womanising and boozing is taken straight from the book of famed soccer stars!! Throw in the very nice girlfriend Roz (Anna Friel), a scurrilous manager who tries to poach players, an encouraging coach, a philosophising but hard-nosed team boss and you've got everything you've ever seen before in examples of this genre.
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However, despite my sinking the soccer boots into the plot, the film works on many levels, the first being the engaging nature of the main characters. One cannot help but like the endearing Santiago, played by Becker, a Hispanic heart-throb. So despite the predictable arc of the plot, we find ourselves drawn along and cheering for San all the way. Similarly, the brash wild Gavin Harris, Allessandro Nivola brings a cheeky likeability to the role, and despite all his bad-boy antics, we like his good heartedness

It is in the soccer training and match scenes that the film really shines. All the actors on the field undertook rigorous football training, and clever inter-cutting of stand-ins makes every scene look authentic. The film-makers, alongside TV crews, also shot actual matches between big teams, but in their own style, to get an up-close and personal feel, and the excitement of the playing field and the crowds is palpable. Cannon is careful not to overload us with endless football scenes, but carefully interweaves the personal events with the sporting events in order to continuously provide something for everyone. The odd appearance of real stars like David Beckham seems a bit gratuitous, and at times I thought the montages of training and the spinning camera looking up at the crowd from San's viewpoint had been in every sporting film I've ever seen. Despite this, somehow I just decided to surrender to the feelgood stuff of the film and enjoy the story of a gorgeous young hunk striving for his heart's desire and found myself entertained, albeit in an unchallenging way!

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