A Beautiful Obsession review
Where to watch: Lionsgate Play
Rating: ★★★.5
Pep Guardiola never hides his reactions even during the game. His eyes are always at the field, locked in with his players. The analysis of the game, the strengths of his Manchester City team, the misses, the moments of misdirection- he is calculating in real time what is working and what is not. These moments get a revelatory look in the new docuseries A Beautiful Obsession, which gets up close and perhaps a little too personal on Pep Guardiola’s final two seasons as the coach with Manchester City.
The premise
Guardiola’s separation from his wife becomes the elephant in the room, being mentioned several times, as the overall performance of the team dips significantly in the 2024-25 season. The first episode of the docuseries delves right into that chaos and shocking season as the team loses one match after another, befuddled at their own form and play.
It is series of moments, little montages as the camera finds the players acutely saving hope for a better run next time, and there is Guardiola, who arrives like a man who does not want to show the turmoil in front of his players but propel them to push harder.
This is no hagiography, thankfully, as the docuseries At no point, does the camera look at these players in godly fashion who can do no wrong. Of course, they make certain mistakes in calculations that resulted in nine defeats and one victory at one stretch, but are they able to get up and admit it? John De Caux’s camera glides back, from corners, as Guardiola takes a moment to speak to the players in the dressing room. “If I am the problem tell me. I want to fight with you…” he tells them, fully open to the idea that he might as well leave if that is something which will help the team get to a better shape.
What works
A Beautiful Obsession is a welcome change from overtly neat and sanitised sports documentaries of one of the greatest football teams in recent memory, bluntly aware of the pitfalls that come with the legacy. Kevin Macdonald intelligently includes that history and honours the long list of players that have shaped the game through decades. It is more than just a game, where each player has to be in top form always, vouching for the win.
This will result in some mistakes, as humane as it is, but the docuseries depicts them with persuasive honesty. When their guard falls, as the team comes together during a celebratory dinner, Erling Haaland wants someone to take the camera away! It is one of those priceless moments which joyously depicts a family that has formed out of a team, a community where everyone has each other’s back no matter what. A Beautiful Obsession finds time and space to celebrate that, which makes it so memorable.