The Beautiful Game coming to Netflix and Film 4 will show what happens to a bunch of homeless men who pull together to represent England at football's Homeless World Cup in Italy. We've seen this premise before of course, with films such as The Full Monty and Brassed Off, where desperate men come together for a common goal, and both movies were very successful in the 1990s. So could The Beautiful Game give us another similar gem?
Made with the support of the Homeless World Cup, The Beautiful Game stars Bill Nighty, Michael Ward and Callum Scott Howells. It's a film of second chances — where homeless teams from around the world find that all roads lead to Rome, and everything’s to play for.
Here's all we know about the movie The Beautiful Game on Netflix..
The Beautiful Game release date
The Beautiful Game will launch worldwide in selected cinemas from Friday March 22 2024 and then become available globally on Netflix from Friday March 29 2024, aka Good Friday. So great to watch over the Easter break.
Is there a trailer for The Beautiful Game?
Yep there's a fantastic trailer for The Beautiful Game from Netflix/Film 4 with plenty of football skills to watch! Looks like a fun movie. Take a peek below...
The Beautiful Game cast
There's a great cast for The Beautiful Game. Among them is Bill Nighy (Emma, Love Actually, Pirates of The Carribbean) playing the England team coach Mal.
Look out too for Callum Scott Howells as Nathan, who is struggling to kick a drug habit. Callum hit superstardom around the world earlier this year for his emotional performance as Colin (aka Gladys Pugh) in the hit drama It's A Sin on Channel 4 in the UK and HBO Max in the US. Callum gave us a hint of his excitement when he posted about The Beautiful Game on Instagram while filming in Rome, Italy (see below).
Michael Ward (Small Axe, Empire of Light, The Book of Clarence and Netflix series Top Boy) plays skilful striker Vinny, who was on the road to becoming a pro footballer for West Ham in his youth but it quite didn't happen.
Other stars you can see in the Beautiful Game include Sian Reese Williams (Wolf) as Nathan's mum, Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes) as a South African nun, plus Valeria Golino (The Morning Show), Kit Young (Shadow & Bone) as Cal, Sheyi Cole (Small Axe) as Jason, Robin Nazari (Snabba Cash), Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Avengers Infinity War) as Kevin and Robin Nazari as Aldar, plus Layo-Christina Akinlude (The End of the F**king World) and Cristina Rodlo (No One Gets Out Alive).
Bill Nighy says: “Let’s hope that people take from this film to treat people with kindness and compassion. The Beautiful Game is clever, and it’s not cynical. It’s just real and it’s smart and entertaining.”
Michael Ward says: “Working with Bill Nighy, obviously, he’s a legend. I just soak everything up and try to learn as much as I can. He’s got captivating stories for days, and by listening, you realize that this is a long game if you really want it to be. You can do this forever, you’ve just got to be dedicated to the craft, dedicated to the stories that you tell. Working with him has just made me realize that you can be a nice person and make it far within this industry and just focus on your craft.”
Callum Scott Howells says: “Through my research and making this movie, I now have a completely different view on homelessness. It’s not black and white. There’s no one story. There are thousands of stories. I hope people watch the film and understand that we’ve been given one life and we’ve got to live it to the fullest because that is what this film is all about. It’s about this group of guys who get given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and they grab it by the horns and just give it a real good bash.”
The Beautiful Game plot — what happens in the movie?
Led by their manager/coach Mal (Bill Nighy), The Beautiful Game follows a very special England soccer/football team as they travel from London to Rome for the Homeless World Cup. At the last minute they decide to bring with them talented striker Vinny (Micheal Ward), but he must confront his own issues and once-promising past in order to help the team and move on with his own life.
Vinny is a talented but troubled striker whose obvious talent is soon noticed by Mal, the England Homeless Football Team coach, who dreams of leading a group of struggling players to glory at that summer’s tournament. Mal believes Vinny could be the key to bringing home the title, but the young striker is initially unwilling to accept the stigma that comes with playing for the team. However when a part-time job falls through, he finally decides to sign up after a chance conversation with his daughter inspires him to try and make her proud.
Yet joining the team is just the start of the journey for Vinny and after spending so long on his own, he must learn to work as part of a team again before finding the redemption he’s long been seeking. One of the team mates who’s impressed by Vinny’s abilities, yet worried that his ego might disrupt the squad before they arrive in Italy, is Nathan (Callum Scott Howells), a recovering drug-addict who’s been kicked out by his family.
Inspired by the real Homeless World Cup, which has been played annually since 2003, the film’s creator Frank Cottrell-Boyce based many of his characters on the stories of real players who’d taken part in the tournament.
With players from previous tournaments making up the numbers for England’s rivals during scenes depicting the competition itself, the cast also had the chance to hear the real stories of people who’d lived on the streets.
Behind the scenes, locations and more The Beautiful Game
The Beautiful Game was filmed in the Uk and Rome, Italy, is directed by Thea Sharrock (Me Before You) while the screenplay is by Frank Cottrell-Boyce (The Railway Man). Producers are Blueprint Pictures' Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin with Anita Overland. Blueprint Pictures’ Ben Knight and Diarmuid McKeown serve as executive producers alongside Ollie Madden and Daniel Battsek at Film4, which helped develop the project.
Thea Sharrock says: "The beauty of hope behind every story was endlessly motivating. It made me laugh and it made me cry. I was sent the script by Blueprint Pictures, the producers of the movie, who had worked closely with The Homeless World Cup Foundation, together with the writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce and producer Colin Farrell who was involved in the original idea of the film. As a huge football fan, I have always been a great believer in the impact sport can have on an individual; how it can give someone a sense of identity, belonging, and inclusion. It’s a film about the importance of being given a second chance and learning to believe in yourself as others do."
Graham Broadbent adds: “The Beautiful Game is a film about succeeding against the odds. Our film shows the joy, drama and excitement of this real life tournament and the enormous potential of people left behind by society. We’ve worked closely with the Homeless World Cup Foundation and our writer Frank has met many players from who’s real life stories he has created our characters, and we’re happy to welcome many former players from the real tournament to be a part of the filming in Rome and London.”
Mel Young, President and Founder of the Homeless World Cup Foundation, says: adds: “We are incredibly excited to be the focus of the upcoming film The Beautiful Game. The Homeless World Cup is our contribution to tackling the homeless problem across the globe but there is so much more to do,” , President and Founder of the Homeless World Cup Foundation. “We have proved just how powerful football can be when it is applied to a social problem and we will keep striving to do more. We hope that the work we do being told in The Beautiful Game inspires more people to join in and support future Homeless World Cups and together we can all aim to end homelessness forever."
* Take a look at Callum Scott Howells' get up at the premiere launch of The Beautiful Game below...
The Beautiful Game locations
From Callum Scott Howell's Instagram post, we know the cast filmed in Rome, Italy. The Beautiful Game cast and crew will then moved to London.
What is the Homeless World Cup?
The Homeless World Cup Foundation was established in 2001 with the first Homeless World Cup taking place in Graz, Austria in 2003. The Foundation’s mission is to use football to support and inspire people who are homeless to change their own lives; and to change perceptions and attitudes towards people who are experiencing homelessness. The 2024 Homeless World Cup will take place in Seoul, South Korea. It operates a Global Network, bringing together 70 member countries that are using football to tackle homelessness and social isolation in their community. Providing a focus for – and a celebration of – their year-round activity with the Homeless World Cup, a landmark international street football tournament that, has taken place in cities all over the world such as Cape Town, Cardiff, Melbourne, Edinburgh, Paris, Rio and Mexico City, The most recent edition took place in Sacramento, California in July 2023. It also supports their Member Countries’ day-to-day work by building international connections, facilitating skill sharing and helping Members to develop. Giving them the tools, skills and platform they need to change their lives and the lives of those around them. www.homelessworldcup.org
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