REVIEW: ‘Beckham’ Grounds The Superstar

Beckham is a sports documentary produced and broadcast exclusively on Netflix. Directed by Fisher Stevens, the four-episode limited series follows the life and career of English footballer David Beckham. One of the most famous faces in the world and arguably the biggest sports star of his generation, the focus is not just on the brilliant footballer, but the pressures he and his family were under during his career.

This documentary excels as a limited series, as opposed to a film, due to the chapters that is separates Beckham’s life into. This is a career with a phenomenal amount of content, but it is nicely structured into periods. The Beckham era of football is split between his early days and rise to greatness, the latter years of Manchester United, his Real Madrid days, then the twilight of his career. It isn’t quite that specific and there is an overlap, instead basing the individual chapters around a feeling. The first It allows for storytelling to unfold during the documentary, with multiple avenues to explore. 

When discussing David Beckham, there are three sides of that story that need to be discussed, as they are equally important. There is the player, the brand and the man, all of which have been the subject of speculation. The documentary explores all of these as separate and combined, and does this magnificently.

After so many years of him not being so present in the media, it is easy to forget just how much of a spectacle he was, both on the pitch and off. He loved the limelight and the money, and the documentary embellishes that aspect, but there was a lot of danger and darkness as well. Perhaps the most powerful vein that the series taps into is the monster that was the English press. The tabloids were obsessed with making headlines and getting stories, with the paparazzi simply lacking any ethics or morals at the time. The display of what the culture was like at the time, is perhaps more important of a discussion than on superstar couple. Likewise, the aftermath of the 1998 World Cup is terrifying to see all these years later, helping to display how attitudes have changed. The documentary brilliantly humanises two people that were presented as inhuman at points.

The documentary spends a lot of time talking to both David Beckham and his wife, Victoria. It’s a lot of PR, especially in the final minutes, but it does actually seem like it’s the first time those utterly bizarre times are being revisited. The former Spice Girl and former Galactico are now much older, and it is fascinating to see how they respond over time. More context is added to important moments, and it is clear that some still hurt. And whilst Beckham is globe-trotting in the latter years of his career, it is interesting to get an alternative perspective from a domestic side.

The second half of the series doesn’t solely present Beckham as an idyllic gentleman, it demonstrates the man’s selfishness for his career and the ramifications it has on a family. The individual episodes are long, and the pacing is slow, allowing for an intimate deep dive into so much of Beckham’s life. It should be said that it is very honest and open.

David Beckham clearly still has contacts as this documentary may have the greatest selection of interview subjects ever collected to reminisce about a footballer. Wayne Rooney’s was good, but Beckham is on another level. Former teammates from Manchester United, Real Madrid and LA Galaxy. The most revered footballers in the world. His family. Former managers, legends of the game. The president of Real Madrid. All make comments about Beckham and help provide more voices for the various periods in his life.

The loveliest are from his Manchester United teammates, those who grew up with him. Figures like Gary Neville speak about the man with such adoration and protection, and those connections are fantastic to get. It gives the series a heart beyond just showing sumptuous goals. The same thing happens in Madrid, but the magnitude of the players speaking intensifies. Ronaldo. Luis Figo. Roberto Carlos. When those men come and talk about you, you know you’re at the highest echelon of the sport.

 It should be said that whilst there are some criticisms, it’s somewhat dubious that all of these negatives end up praising Beckham in some way. Even the harshest of figures end up with a smile on their face. It’s easier to do that after retirement, and times change, but it still becomes noticeable. There is one absentee that really does signal a long-lasting resentment that Beckham and his family must still harbour towards. It’s very clear in the interviews that what that person did has not been forgiven, and the comments are some of the grittiest and most candid out of the hundreds of clips in the documentary.

The editing and the look of the limited series is excellent. The interviews are interspersed among both modern and classic footage, which all look phenomenal. The change in quality within the football matches highlights the longevity of the man’s career. The build-up to the most important matches is superbly crafted, with music and shots of the crowds and the wider world, not just the stadiums.

This is a series that obsesses over generations and the passage of time, rapidly moving through the years at times. One of the most bizarre techniques that Fisher tries to implement is the idea of playing the projection of a game on the face of an interview subject. For example, Beckham will be speaking whilst his first-ever Manchester United game is displayed over his skin. Intriguing in principle, there are moments where it is rather uncomfortable. The camera is too close, the faces too big, and so it can be awkward for a long period of time.

Beckham is beautifully made, giving a god a chance to come back down to Earth. English football fans will remember just how much the man was both villainized and idolised, and the documentary really does investigate both. The levels of emotion and attention directed at both David and Victoria is beyond belief in the nineties and early noughties. Fisher successfully demonstrates the unmatched superstardom that Beckham reached, as well as his phenomenal talent and attitude. And actually, it is the voice of Victoria that carries more weight within the documentary because those sides of the stories have been heard much less.

Beckham looks gorgeous and those iconic games of football are brilliantly revisited, made better with the commentary from so many distinct voices. It isn’t just the golden boy that is made human, several of the greatest footballers are. Does this series fuel a man’s ego? But it makes for spectacular viewing. 

Beckham is available now on Netflix.