George Best: All by Himself

George Best was the most naturally gifted footballer of his generation. But his was also a life that peaked young, as the pressures of celebrity led him into alcholism, an early retreat from top flight football, an subsequent story that included wife-beating, a prison sentence for drunk driving, and a liver transplant, and finally an early death. This documentary focuses mainly on his playing career, but nonetheless feels weighed down by sadness from the very beginning: Best was, by all accounts, a genuinely nice young lad, but one who could never cope with his extraordinary gifts. One has to say that the modern press is a terrifying institution, and, as with many others who have ultimately died from their demons, one gets a sense that a life lived in perpetual public view is a near impossible one to live. One also gets the sense, however, that in a fundamental sense, Best gave up trying (or at least was utterly defeated) by at a relatively young age. Our sports stats carry so many of our hopes and dreams; but some cannot manage it. For all his genius, this is not a happy tale, although it's well-told, sympathetic but never hiding from the grim truth.