THE BEAUTIFUL GAME 12

Up for the cup…

Gareth Southgate’s successor is finally unveiled…

★★★★★ OUT NOW CINEMAS 29 MARCH NETFLIX

Adash of panache, please!’ requests England manager Mal (Bill Nighy) of his ragtag team of players as they arrive at the Homeless World Cup, a real-life competition for the internationally unhoused that provides the backdrop for Thea Sharrock’s (Wicked Little Letters) otherwise fictional yarn.

Panache, in truth, is somewhat wanting in this story of disadvantaged misfits finding hope and self-worth in four-a-side street soccer. But there’s plenty of heart and humour to make up for it, not to mention postcard-perfect images of the Eternal City that bring to mind Audrey Hepburn’s glorious Roman Holiday.

All roads do indeed lead to Rome for Mal’s recruits, which include an ex-gambler goalie (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), a recovering heroin addict (Callum Scott Howells) and a gifted striker living in his car (Micheal Ward). It’s the latter’s redemptive arc that takes centre stage here, a decision that takes full advantage of Ward’s star charisma. Yet it’s one that rather short-changes the rest of his squad, some of whom (Robin Nazari’s Syrian refugee, for example) hardly get a look-in.

Tangential narratives involving the Japanese, South African and US participants contribute to a crowded affair that only attains dramatic clarity on the pitch. Like the tournament itself, though, this remains a noble and well-intentioned endeavour that builds to a rewarding crescendo.

THE VERDICT Though Messi in parts, this feel-good football fable still serves up a significant emotional kick.

THE ORIGIN OF EVIL 15

Rich pickings…

★★★★★ OUT 29 MARCH CINEMAS

It’s less ‘Who’s your Daddy?’ than ‘Who’s your daughter?’ in this sharp-toothed and twisty French thriller about a long-lost offspring seeking paternal love (and maybe loot) within a dysfunctional hotel dynasty.

Laure Calamy (Call My Agent!) is deliciously demure as broke, lonely ex-con Stéphane, keen to cosy up to ailing biological father Serge (Jacques Weber), the creepiest tycoon on the Côte d’Azur. Director Sébastien Marnier gets us rooting for Stéphane as Serge’s ruthless younger daughter (Doria Tillier) and his shopaholic wife Louise (Dominique Blanc, oozing Almodóvar-ish camp) try and oust her from their crazy, crammed mansion. Despite its hate-the-rich comic touches – see also Saltburn and Parasite – the film is an edgy little number, full of tension and jeopardy as Stéphane wriggles between her hateful new family and a volatile, violent jailbird girlfriend (Suzanne Clément).

Clever changes in the film’s colour palette emphasise Stéphane’s plight, pinballing her between her no-hoper life in a faded-out fishpacking factory and Serge’s tropically hued chateau. Marnier also wraps the corkscrew plot in nice retro styling, cranking up the suspense with Brian De Palma-influenced split-screen scenes, and throwing in some Claude Chabrol-like backstabbing and betrayals. Calamy gives a superb, protean performance, constantly keeping us guessing as to whether Stéphane is needy, seedy or just plain greedy. KATE STABLES

THE VERDICT This sharply wicked Riviera-set thriller mixes the poignant and the poisonous with real style.

NETFLIX, BLUE FINCH, PARKLAND, SIGNATURE, CURZON