Fever Pitch
Football mania û whatÆs it all about? ItÆs like a mood-altering drug: life is sweet if your team wins; life sucks if it doesnÆt. IÆve seen the long faces at work the morning after a defeat and have heard the commiseration: ôWe were robbed, he was miles off-side, Southgate blew it.ö How can a mere sport make fans so dedicated, theyÆd travel to the end of the universe to see a match as if it were some religious pilgrimage? How can a mere sport command the kind of unconditional adoration any relationship would envy? I donÆt pretend to understand it, and as an American I can safely say we have nothing that comes near that kind of football fanaticism in the States.
Fever Pitch, however, based on Nick HornbyÆs book of the same name, captures the essence of football fever, with its infectious highs and devastating lows. Paul (Colin Firth) is football fan extraordinnaire. A teacher of English at a London comprehensive, he meets new member of staff, the very uptight Sarah (Ruth Gemmell), who initially seems resentful of PaulÆs popularity with the students. After a few awkward encounters in the corridors, they end up shagging.
With a few flashbacks to PaulÆs childhood, you witness Paul get his first taste of football û heÆs hooked, and so will you be. As Sarah and PaulÆs relationship progresses, you realise heÆs not only obsessed with football, itÆs his life. But he becomes torn between his love for Arsenal and his love for Sarah; her difficulty with what she feels is just a stupid sport turns out to be the biggest obstacle in their relationship. She believes nothing else matters to him and during an argument asks him: ôWhat else do you have?ö He responds: ôAt least IÆm passionate about something.ö
Sarah learns she is pregnant and agonises over whether to keep the child. When Paul finds out heÆs an expectant father, he has a revelation. Perhaps he has given too much of his life to football û perhaps itÆs time to let go. In his own bumbling way, he proposes saying: ôA wife and a baby û yeah, thatÆll do me.ö But how ever endearing Paul is, Sarah remains unconvinced. Though she struggles to understand PaulÆs fanaticism, she never gives him an ultimatum, which is much to the characterÆs credit. But having said that, the movieÆs biggest weakness is that SarahÆs character is unremarkable. I found myself wishing sheÆd wipe that stupid look of indignation off her face. I thought Hornby, who wrote the screenplay, should have at least given her a personality. But Firth was brilliant. I was pleasantly surprised at how convincing his portrayal of a lad was û a far cry from Pride and PrejudiceÆs posh Mr Darcy.
The worst day of PaulÆs life comes not when he loses out on a promotion at work, nor when he loses Sarah, but the day Arsenal loses to Derby County. He fears the defeat is an omen û that Arsenal wonÆt win the league. In trying to convey his distress to Sarah, he asks: ôHavenÆt you ever wanted anything in life for that long?ö During their on-again, off-again relationship, Paul gradually transforms. Arsenal eventually wins the league and only then does Paul feel ready to cut the umbilical cord. The movie ends happily, with a significant reflection: ôI have my own life now and my successes and failures arenÆt inextricably linked to ArsenalÆs.ö
Fever Pitch is very pleasant. ItÆs full of pithy dialogue and funny one-liners that help a football rookie like me understand the furore. YouÆll find yourself rooting for Arsenal and wishing you too were making that pilgrimage. I somehow expected Fever Pitch to be nothing more than an amusing look into the world of football freaks. But itÆs not just about that û itÆs about camaraderie and, moreover, about unconditional love. All I have to say is, Go Go Gunners!!!
Reviewed by Donatella Montrone