Next Goal Wins (12A)

American Samoa's national football team languishes at the bottom of the world rankings. In 2001, the team famously lost 31-0 to Australia. Disgraced coach Thomas Rongen is forcibly encouraged to accept a position transforming the American Samoa squad into a group of players capable of scoring just one goal. Estranged from his wife Gail in a land he doesn't comprehend, Thomas struggles to connect with his squad.

LondonNet Film Review

Next Goal Wins (12A) Film Review from LondonNet

Sporting underdogs frequently have their day when scriptwriters house-train facts into feelgood fiction. America’s ice hockey team defies the odds to outskate the Soviet Union’s formidable reigning champions at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Miracle; Jamaica’s inexperienced four-man bobsleigh team run hot at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Cool Runnings; Irish-American boxer James J Braddock returns to the ring after breaking his dominant hand in Cinderella Man. Oscar-winning writer-director Taika Waititi applies the crowd-pleasing brushstrokes to his comedy drama inspired by a 2014 documentary about the efforts of American Samoa’s national football team to recover from a 31-0 defeat to Australia in a qualifying match for the 2002 World Cup…

Appearing on screen as a zany preacher, Waititi promises “a tale of whoa!… with a couple of embellishments along the way”. He largely fulfils these modest ambitions with a conventional clash of cultures on the US territory interspersed with wholesome life lessons about a team only being as strong as its weakest link. Michael Fassbender scores a couple of own goals as the exasperated straight man at the centre of this fanciful folly but a reliable supporting cast are more sure-footed when it comes to netting laughs.

Ten years after humiliating defeat on an international stage, American Samoa’s national football team languishes at the bottom of the world rankings. Goalkeeper Nicky Salapu (Uli Latukefu) has turned his back on the sport after his heroic efforts in 2001 and the head of the US territory’s football federation, Tavita (Oscar Kightley), issues a heartfelt plea for external help to turn around American Samoa’s (mis)fortunes. Disgraced coach Thomas Rongen (Fassbender) is encouraged to accept a position transforming the squad into a cohesive group capable of scoring one goal.

Self-confidence exceeds Rongen’s list of accomplishments (“I’m not God but I may as well be because I perform more miracles than him!”) but every triumph is overshadowed by his volcanic temper and shameful outbursts on the touchline. Estranged from his wife Gail (Elisabeth Moss) in a land he doesn’t fully comprehend, Rongen attempts to bend the players to his will with the help of ineffectual ongoing coach Ace (David Fane). He meets fierce resistance from the squad led by talented forward Jaiyah Saelua (Kaimana), who intends to make history as the first transgender player to compete in a World Cup qualifier.

Next Goal Wins hobbles off at full-time with inconsistent pacing and tone despite solid efforts on the pitch from Kightley and Kaimana. The romantic tug of war between Fassbender, Moss and her new partner (Will Arnett) is an unnecessary distraction from heart-warming scenes of Rongen engaging with local traditions. A running time closer to a 90-minute football match would have prevented Waititi’s tale of whoa from finishing the season as a mid-table so-so.

– Sarah Lee