Let me start by saying I know nothing – and do not care to know much more – about the sport of soccer.
I dabbled as a child, in a bid from my parents to get me into competitive sport. I was more often picking daisies at mid-field than I was running for the ball.
So I went into soccer documentary The End Of The Storm with the sort of malaise you have when you get a movie day at school at 12, and they show you To Kill A Mockingbird.
And yet, I found myself becoming more and more enthralled with each moment. The fandom, the love, the heartbreak, and the way people live and breath the Liverpool Football Club is absolutely exhilarating and endlessly interesting fare.
I gained an appreciation not only for the fans, but what it must have felt like for this team as they journeyed through their 2019/2020 Premier League winning season. I felt every emotion and was dialed in.
Writer-director James Erskine, an Emmy nominee, finds a way to make this subject matter relatable to everyone, and the film is better for it.
The coach, the players, the fans and everyone else involved show the passion they have for the sport on their faces, and it’s impossible not to feel something when you see this film.
It made a slight soccer hooligan out of me, and I didn’t think that was possible 90 minutes prior. A well done showing.
4/5 Stars