Gascoigne (2015), Director: Jane Preston, Salon Pictures

Gazza shows his best side

Paul Gascoigne has been in the British public’s consciousness for the best part of 25 years. And in that time the man we know as “Gazza” has shown a series of different faces.

There was the slightly chubby, grinning bundle of energy fresh off the streets of Newcastle; the blubbering, heart-on-the-sleeve Englishman who almost carried his nation to the World Cup Final; the cheeky chappy with the fake breasts and dentist-chair shenanigans and the bleach blonde maestro waltzing through defences at will.

But in recent years the face that the public have been shown is the tormented, lost soul struggling with alcoholism. Or the loose cannon turning up with a fishing rod, lagers and some chicken – a tragic/comic figure in equal measure. It’s this face that Jane Preston’s documentary attempts to wipe clean.

Geordie boy

It’s an attempt to return the focus to what made us all fall in love with Gazza in the first place - his unique gifts on the park and his harmless hijinks off it. It also wants the audience to know that you can’t judge a man on what you read in the tabloid newspapers.

For Gascoigne, this is clearly an opportunity to combat the tabloid hacks and slurs and show his best side to the camera. Preston only calls for three supporting characters and clearly want the main focus to be on Gascoigne’s own views and perspectives.

Gary Lineker, Gascoigne’s former Tottenham and England teammate shares some anecdotes while Wayne Rooney tells of the influence Gascoigne the player has had on his own career. Jose Mourinho is used more sparingly but talks of seeing Gascoigne light up Euro 1996.

Gascoigne’s life and career has been filled with such dramatic moments both on and off the pitch that it is a real challenge for Preston to contain it all in a 90 minute documentary. The archive footage is undoubtedly a joy to watch – Gascoigne in his prime was a majestic footballer. And this is where the film is at its strongest – Gazza in his pomp, strutting around the pitch with his chest puffed out and a smile on his face is a joy to watch.

But the film returns repeatedly to Gascoigne telling his side of the story and while he certainly has bags of anecdotes these more often than not come over as cast offs from the after-dinner circuit. The stories aren’t helped by the slow motion shots of each speaker as they try to convey whatever the emotion is – grinning for a funny memory or serious face for the darker moments.

It leaves the viewer yearning for a more in depth, objective exploration of the footballer’s demons.

“The archive footage is undoubtedly a joy to watch – Gascoigne in his prime was a majestic footballer. And this is where the film is at its strongest – Gazza in his pomp, strutting around the pitch with his chest puffed out and a smile on his face is a joy to watch. ”

Missed opportunity

Preston is trying to do for Gazza what James Toback’s Tyson did for the notorious heavyweight boxer. Yet, by not fully exploring certain aspects of Gascoigne’s life, the film fails to truly get to the heart of the man. This results in a documentary that is less Tyson and more Piers Morgan's Life Stories.

Paul Gascoigne is perhaps the most gifted footballer England has ever produced and he deserves an in-depth cinematic study of his life and career. Unfortunately Gascoigne isn’t that film.

For more information: http://www.salonpictures.co.uk