In scripted cinema, it is much easier to build up a character to be larger than life and then humanise them, as the troubles of the real world are non-existent. But how do you present the life of a person who is known beyond the barriers of language and culture? You delve into honesty. You portray the man through the emotions that define him, the victories that made him, and the defeats that changed him. Kevin MacDonald’s A Beautiful Obsession chronicles the final phase of Pep Guardiola’s career as a coach for Manchester City and the turbulence he faced in this time.
Director: Kevin MacDonald
Featuring: Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne
Streamer: Lionsgate Play
In this four part miniseries, MacDonald achieves what he sets out to do. You do not have too much dramatization of the story in terms of technical presentation. You don’t have rousing music to denote when a scene is important, or forced sequences to prop up the impact of a moment. Instead the sequential nature of the series results in the audience being able to sit with the circumstances of the matches and the locker room discussions, which allows for the honesty to gain a deeper and more nuanced nature of the subjects of the documentary.
Likewise, A Beautiful Obsession doesn’t shy away from showing the lowest moments in Guardiola’s career. We see him tear up during some of the defeats, force players to reflect on the cost of their ‘lack of spiritedness’ and even being honest about his divorce. Now, Pep is confronting a group of players of a team, who have been back to back champions. One must imagine high egos defining the group but instead we see Pep setting the honest and grounded tone breaking the pre-conceived notions and giving players more insight into who he is. This nature of A Beautiful Obsession helps in making it a unique documentary.
