Maradona. Pelé. Best. Northern Ireland's legendary star remains one of the most naturally gifted footballers there has ever been. Famously called the 'best player in the world' by Pelé, George Best galvanized Manchester United's five-year recovery from the tragedy of the Munich air crash. His skill and exuberance inspired them to win league titles and the European Cup, even though he was little more than a teenager. Tragically, his career in the upper echelons of sport was over before he turned 29, the result of his bruising battle with alcoholism and the crushing pressure of modern fame. (After all, this was Britain in the frenzy of Beatle-mania and 1960s youth culture, where Best was dubbed 'El Beatle' by the world's media.) Producer John Battsek (2016's Oscar-nominated Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom, The Imposter, Project Nim) and director Daniel Gordon re-team after their acclaimed, Emmy-nominated Hillsborough to deliver a heart-breaking portrait of one of the world's truly great sporting talents, whose extraordinary gift was decimated by his own addiction.
Gordon's documentary is punctuated with redtop headlines, as if the Daily Bilge and Sunday Schmooze were the authorities to trust on matters of fallen soccer princes.
There are several truly splendid moments to savour and candid interviews with some of the main players in George Best's life, especially his first wife Angie and old pals such as Pat Crerand and Mike Summerbee.
Gordon does the double European footballer of the year more than justice, and the film should serve as a pedagogic tool for generations of gifted athletes from heretofore.
If Best's story is a cautionary tale that's become a cliché across all walks of life, Gordon's film functions as a useful reminder that there's always a human being behind such tales.
The film is well put together and Best's talent shines in the archive footage, although you do wonder if he achieved quite as much to deserve all the adulation ...
A beautifully balanced perspective that extols Best's sublime skills while offering sobering analysis of how unprecedented fame (for a footballer), alcohol and his inner demons halted his progress.
