© 2006 by C. E. Murphy. All Rights Reserved.
Eleven Men Out
An image from Eleven Men
Out, Róbert I. Douglas,
Iceland/Finland/United
Kingdom, 2005; 90 min.

           Imagine a major athlete disclosing his homosexuality to a reporter from
    Sports Illustrated. That's sort of the premise for Eleven Men Out, which
   centers on a star Icelandic soccer player, Óttar Thor (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson),
   who announces his sexual orientation in the locker room following a team
   practice. That he has not told anyone else in his life -- from his father, who is
   the team coach, to his ex-wife, a former Miss Iceland, to his teenage son, to his
   teammates, is merely an afterthought. Óttar isn't exactly Mr. Sensitivity. In fact,
   he's something of a self-centered jerk. To his credit, director and co-writer
   Róbert I. Douglas doesn't really redeem the character over the course of the
   film. Having lived a life of privilege thanks to his celebrity status on the soccer
   field, Óttar continues to project that smugness and entitlement.

           Once he has come out of the closet, though, Óttar finds himself a man
   without a team. Despite his star ranking, he is booted off the professional
   team. Eventually, he agrees to join an amateur team that has a couple of other
   gay players on it. A couple of the heterosexual members object to playing on
   a "gay" team and quit, and eventually the team is comprised mostly of out,
   gay men. Some opponents refuse to play them and the team begins to win its
   amateur division. Meanwhile, the professional team is struggling and
   management has to figure out a way to get its star back on the field.

            Eleven Men Out has an intriguing premise, but it doesn't really work
   as well as it should, partly because Óttar is not a terribly likable character and
   partly because the story feels forced. Douglas can be commended for wanting
   to explore what it means to be homosexual in a society rife with machismo, but
   I don't feel he succeeded in his intent.


                                                        Rating:        C -