This week we witness the arrival of a bold new cinematic vision called ‘The Football’ – an existential examination of man and masculinity.
The film is, on the surface, a simple affair. A number of men take to an area of grass and, using their legs, run.
They run almost constantly, compelled to do so by a baying crowd. The implication is clear, modern man is compelled by societal values to constantly work, constantly strive, but to what end?
There is a ball involved, but that is very much a macguffin in the tradition of Hitchcock’s great thrillers. It serves no purpose other than to give the men something to chase after.
As such, we are forced to examine our own lives, are our hopes and dreams for our own futures – career, wealth, power – are these just macguffins? Are they just balls?
Ultimately, the film offers no conclusion. The men stop running and leave the grass. However, the implication is that they will return again and a never-ending cycle of crushing commitment continues.
The film offers some hope, though. In an audacious move, multiple versions of ‘The Football’ have been released at the same time in which the leading men wearing different coloured versions of the same costume. This shows that, despite the ultimate futility of man’s existence, man’s great commonality is, paradoxically, our individuality and it is that which truly defines us.
Ultimately, ‘The Football’ is a thought-provoking, if slightly unsatisfying look at the world we live in today.
Screen Idle star rating *** – Kane was excellent, but I’d like to see a bit more from the midfield.
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