Directed by Klara Kaliger and written by leading actress Ella Dorman-Gajic, a young female footballer is torn between her ambitions and her responsibilities to care her ailing grandmother, who was once a footballer herself. Also starring: Maureen Casey, Lucy Jane Rae, Tom Goodman-Hill, Muki Zubis, Dolly Webb, Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson and Ilaria Rosselli del Turco.
Entering Back of the Net, Klara Kaliger and cinematographer Et Ng quickly establish a tone that’s lively and young but also give it a strong visual foundation to introduce emotional themes. The aesthetic is excellent, it’s textured and has a real eye for bringing out the richness in its everyday settings. Especially when added to the clever choices with framing, using all the negative space to help provide depth. It’s an interesting contrast as Kaliger’s directorial style has a genuine maturity and sensitivity set against the highly youthful nature of the story, which works well.
Although, it can feel like the story leans overly far into that youth, bringing through big notes of naivety. They’re not inappropriate given the age of Back of the Net’s leading character but when it’s also trying to convey complex topics, it feels like it needed to ease off of that youth a bit so it could settle into grappling with its complicated nature. That tone doesn’t always give the issues the edge they need to hit harder. It’s a great story and a fantastic concept for a short but it feels like there’s simply a few things holding it back from reaching its full potential.
One of those would be how Maya (Ella Dorman-Gajic) hides her family situation from her teammates and coach, as there’s no clear explanation for it. Granted, many people have their own reasons for wanting privacy but logically, since environments like women’s football are typically empathetic, it feels a strange choice for her not to simply be honest. It creates an unusual hole in the story.
Whereas how Dorman-Gajic approaches the topic of the gender gap in respect for both women’s sports and the athletes themselves, is nicely realistic. It encompasses those off-hand digs, the undermining choice of words, and casual dismissal. Particularly when it comes to people pushing it aside without ever exploring it or taking an interest in the first place. Highlighting why it’s so key to get people interested and involved in women’s sports at an early age. Although the actual playing of the game and training within Back of the Net are not always the most convincing or natural, they can be lacking in fluidity and vigour.
However, it’s similarly great to see how they tackle the issue of caring for ailing family members. It captures the love and care which go into it but also the level of difficulty and how it can be mentally and physically draining. Something that’s intensified by Maya’s age, and you can see that reflected well in Ella Dorman-Gajic’s performance. Maureen Casey is superb as her grandmother Maggie, she perfectly portrays the condition as well as doing justice to her personality. It’s a tricky line to walk capturing that waning grip on reality but also truly give the character individual qualities so it’s undoubtedly an achievement on Casey’s part.
Back of the Net echoes the sentiment of countless women in pro-sports trying to change society’s attitude, to rid it of the classic undermining, demeaning and unappreciative perspectives. It’s a highly relevant issue and Klara Kaliger and Ella Dorman-Gajic approach it in a way that feels organic. Kaliger’s direction is very strong and paired excellently with Et Ng’s cinematography and is in turn supported well by Emma Blackman’s editing. Ella Dorman-Gajic gives a very youthful, conflicted performance and has a terrific supporting cast behind her, particularly Maureen Casey. It was a superb idea for a short and it maybe doesn’t quite reach its full potential but there’s a talented bunch of women both in front of and behind the camera.
FilmCarnage.com 
Thanks Rebecca for such an interesting and thorough review! Best wishes Maureen
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