Since breaking through with cult indie hits such as Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, eccentric Kiwi filmmaker Taika Waititi has spent some time in the mainstream working with Disney on big budget Marvel and Star Wars pieces. His latest feature sees him return to his smaller scale roots, adapting the sports documentary of the same name. Co-written with Inbetweeners’ Iain Morris, comedy drama Next Goal Wins follows disgraced and downtrodden football coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) in his efforts to lead the notoriously awful American Samoa national team to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. With the help of his assistant Tavita (Oscar Kightley) and their star player Jaiyah (Kaimana), he tries to turn their misfortunes around.
With a fish-out-of-water manager taking on an underachieving team for comic effect, it’s tricky not to draw comparisons with popular television series Ted Lasso. However, this plucky underdog tale feels far less wholesome; not necessarily because of the narrative itself but by the way in which it’s being told.
Waititi’s approach has a sniggering, self-satisfied tone and he lets his own narcissism get in the way of telling an uplifting true story. By casting himself as the narrator by way of a fictional local priest, he gives himself a platform to perform his tired schtick in the beginning of the film. This opening gambit, along with most of the humour in the script, feels out of sync with the plot. This misjudgement of tone results in jarring shifts between comedy and tragedy in the final act.
Michael Fassbender is one of the most interesting acting presences around and he can be truly phenomenal in the right production. However, like the man he is playing, his decision-making can leave a lot to be desired and he’s dropped the ball again on this occasion. Giving up on the vague European accent halfway through, he channels curmudgeon era Jürgen Klopp and becomes so mean-spirited and unlikeable that it becomes difficult to root for him or his team. As miscast as he is, there’s a supporting turn from Elisabeth Moss that might be worse; it makes you wonder what bet she must’ve lost to end up in this.
With an inspiring true story and a terrific actor as his disposal, this was an open goal opportunity for director Taika Waititi. Instead of tapping it in, he’s really missed a sitter with this painfully unfunny dud.
Cinema Perspective 