“Beckham” is a four part docu-series released on Netflix on Oct. 4, following the life and career of soccer (football) legend David Beckham.
Let me start off by saying that I am a documentary junkie. I will watch anything about any topic. When I saw that this new series was trending, I knew it was something I wanted to watch. Obviously I knew who David Beckham was, but my knowledge of professional soccer is limited to my family’s devotion to the Italian soccer team each time the World Cup rolls around.
The series started off with a midfield goal that Beckham scored during a Manchester United game in 1996. This was the kick that shot Beckham into fame. Similar attempts had been made by other players, but he, at the age of 21, was one of the first to actually have it go in on a national stage.
Beckham reflected on this goal and the media frenzy that followed. Later on in his career, he was no stranger to front-page headlines and paparazzi, but this was the first time that he experienced anything of the sort.
The series consisted of many different interviews from people heavily involved in Beckham’s life and career, including his parents, former teammates, the former manager of Manchester United and even the Argentinian player that caused Beckham to receive a red card during the World Cup game in 1998.
Each person provided a different perspective of each experience as the viewers followed along on Beckham’s life and career. This is something that I think stylistically made this series worth watching.
For example, something that the series touches on frequently is Beckham’s relationship with his wife, Victoria (Adams) Beckham, who was “Posh Spice” in the ‘90s girl group the Spice Girls. The two met in their early 20’s and are still together today.
In one clip, there’s Victoria and David talking about how magical it was in the beginning stages of their relationship. In another clip, there’s David’s parents talking about how they liked Victoria at the time. Then, there’s a clip from a former teammate saying something along the lines of “he was stupidly, blindly in love and putting football second.” These contrasting opinions on the same topic made the docu-series interesting to follow along and entertaining.
Another stylistic choice that I thought was interesting about this series was camera placement. The filmmaker frequently shows Beckham and his former teammates clips of their games. Each time that a clip ends, the camera is super up-close to the player’s face, capturing their emotions as they reminisce on some of the most pivotal games of their careers. Sometimes they smiled, sometimes they scowled, but all of it was real, raw emotion.
David Beckham’s soccer career was so full of ups and downs it was hard to keep up. He constantly went from being on top of the world, to being the most hated man in England after the World Cup loss, to being back on top, to being traded to Real Madrid, to almost getting cut by Real Madrid, to playing in America (which is widely regarded as the pitfall of any soccer players career), to opening his own club in Miami after retiring. It was really interesting to follow, even as someone who doesn’t watch sports.
But they don’t just talk about his incredible career: his friends and Victoria comment on other things about his life too, like his fashion choices, his haircuts and more. You can see the real friendship as each of them throw jabs at some of his looks.
And they’re really in love! You would think that the male soccer superstar heartthrob at the time and a girl in one of the most famous girl groups at the time dating would’ve been a publicity stunt. But it wasn’t! At the core of all things, the two of them prioritized each other and their family, and it gave me a different outlook on them as a couple.
And now let’s be real: David Beckham is hot. He ages like fine wine. I knew he was cute now, and I knew he was a heartthrob back then. Did this have an effect on how much I enjoyed the series? I would be lying if I said it didn’t.
For a docu-series that consisted mostly of clips of soccer games, I was engaged the whole time. If you haven’t watched it yet, you should totally watch the “Beckham” series. Beckham’s career was full of highs and lows until his retirement in 2013. I can safely say that after watching this, I am a soccer fan.