You might have expected Netflix's four-part documentary about David Beckham, and made by his own production company, to be a hagiography "that would offer a few tasty morsels, but would mostly polish the shiny tiara of Brand Beckham", said Carol Midgley in The Times. "And you would be right." There is also arguably some irony in the fact that it features a couple complaining about media intrusion while handing over family videos for a series about their personal lives. But the crucial question is: is the film entertaining? Well, "I binged the lot in one sitting".
Directed by Fisher Stevens (the PR man Hugo in "Succession"), it should appeal "whether you're a Manchester United season-ticket holder or more of a Victoria Beckham type", said Rebecca Nicholson in The Guardian. There are interviews with Beckham's parents (his mother in particular is "great value") as well as with celebrities from Eric Cantona and Rio Ferdinand to Anna Wintour. And though the documentary rather skirts over the allegations that he had an affair in the 2000s, "there are loads of gossipy nuggets": about the sarong, the many haircuts, and the decision to wear purple at his wedding – one he can no longer fathom.
Some of it is moving too, including the scenes in which Beckham and Alex Ferguson talk about how Ferguson turned on, then cast out, the boy "he'd raised like a son", said Benji Wilson in The Daily Telegraph. What ultimately emerges from this series is a "superb" portrait of both "an era and of an unexpectedly complex man".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up to the Arts & Life newsletter for reviews and recommendations
-
Employees are branching out rather than moving up with career minimalismThe explainer From career ladder to lily pad
-
‘It is their greed and the pollution from their products that hurt consumers’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Jane Austen lives on at these timeless hotelsThe Week Recommends Here’s where to celebrate the writing legend’s 250th birthday
-
‘Mexico: A 500-Year History’ by Paul Gillingham and ‘When Caesar Was King: How Sid Caesar Reinvented American Comedy’ by David Margolickfeature A chronicle of Mexico’s shifts in power and how Sid Caesar shaped the early days of television
-
Homes by renowned architectsFeature Featuring a Leonard Willeke Tudor Revival in Detroit and modern John Storyk design in Woodstock
-
Film reviews: ‘Hamnet,’ ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ and ‘Eternity’Feature Grief inspires Shakespeare’s greatest play, a flamboyant sleuth heads to church and a long-married couple faces a postmortem quandary
-
May your loved ones eat, drink and be merry with these 9 edible Christmas giftsThe Week Recommends Let them eat babka (and cheese and licorice)
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
The Mushroom Tapes: a compelling deep dive into the trial that gripped AustraliaThe Week Recommends Acclaimed authors team up for a ‘sensitive and insightful’ examination of what led a seemingly ordinary woman to poison four people
-
10 concert tours to see this winterThe Week Recommends Keep cozy this winter with a series of concerts from big-name artists
-
‘Chess’feature Imperial Theatre, New York City
