Rating of
3/4
A young woman is torn between two cultures!
MovieAddict - wrote on 02/19/12
A young British-born teen girl – Jasminder or Jess (Parminder Nagra) of east-Indian heritage loves playing football more than anything else and her biggest idol is David Beckham dreams of playing professional soccer; the kind forbidden by her traditionalist mother who just wants her to get married to a nice Indian Boy and learn to make perfect Aloo Gobi.
So when she is spotted in a park by Jules (Keira Knightley), who plays for the local girls' team, an invitation to try out is both alluring and forbidden. Jess makes the team, becomes friends with Jules, develops a crush on her coach Joe (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), and spends the summer hiding her passion from her family as she prepares for college and her sister's wedding. But when her sister’s wedding is scheduled for the same day as the ultimate soccer match, what's a girl to do?
The chemistry between the two girls and their love triangle with their coach seems real. Jess as the heroine of the story embodies so many virtues. She is obedient to her family while at the same time showing resolve and courage. Although she lies to her parents and sneaks out, her intentions are out of passion of the game she loves; not of greed or malicious intent. Keira Knightley is wonderful as Jules who befriends an Indian football talent and introduces her to the real game. Jules mother is played brilliantly by Juliet Stevenson and nothing is funnier than her discussion in the car about her daughter possibly being a lesbian.
The film is a must-see for female athletes past, present, or future and it is nice to see the difference in cultures between the girls’ mom as one freaks out when she finds her daughter playing around with a boy whilst the other encourages the daughter to have a boyfriend. Do you follow your dreams, or follow your family? Can you do both?
