Parents' Guide to Untold: Hope Solo vs. U.S. Soccer

This is a fascinating watch for both soccer fans and those who don't follow the sport. Few things in Nina Meredith's documentary about Hope Solo are as powerful as learning that most of her fellow National Team teammates declined to be interviewed; nobody in U.S. soccer seems to want anything to do with her. So the story in Untold: Hope Solo vs. U.S. Soccer is one of a powerful woman forced to turn into a team of one, an island left to face the storm on her own.

Viewers of all ages will be enthralled by the archival footage, where we see why Solo is often called the greatest soccer player in U.S. history. Her unmatched instincts are dazzling to watch. She leaps into the air to catch soccer balls flying toward her with the determination of a weapon, but as she talks about her troubled life and the scandals that have surrounded her career, the imposing Solo looks smaller. It's quite telling that almost no one in soccer wanted to talk about Solo, which makes the title of the documentary even more effective, albeit sad. By the end of the film she stands alone, trying to improve the corrupt, sexist system that swallowed her whole and spat her out when she called it out.