Goal!

Right now you can watch Goal! On streaming — and it holds up to as much attention as you give it. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Kuno Becker anchors it with a performance that rewards close attention. There is no real reason to keep putting it off.

Goal! Is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. Goal! Trusts its audience to sit with discomfort instead of resolving it too quickly. Like millions of kids around the world, Santiago harbors the dream of being a professional footballer... However, living in the Barrios section of Los Angeles, he thinks it is only that—a dream. Until one day an extraordinary turn of events has him trying out for Premiership club Newcastle United. Kuno Becker and Alessandro Nivola lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2005. The performances in Goal! Do a lot of work in the silences between the dialogue. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Viewers drawn to character-driven storytelling will find plenty to sit with in Goal!. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Kuno Becker carries the material with a performance that rewards close attention. Worth starting sooner rather than later.