see you next Tuesday.

Rating: 4/10 (4 August 2008)

this film was a hilariously and unacceptably overacted caricature of hooliganism, that too often required suspension of disbelief and resorted to stereotypical and unrealistic behaviour to deal with the conflicts and themes.
the actors and actresses in the film are solid and give off convincing airs until the final third when the waterworks and the screaming and the posturing went into overdrive in an orgasm of drama. despite the police presence throughout the film, they stay strangely absent when the abbey pub is burnt and smashed up and during the final fight with the millennium dome backdrop.
the underlying message is ultimately a double edged sword, a positive slant on the camaraderie and siege mentality of the rowing and the lawless rivalries, while trying to present the idea that this experience may have taught Matt the strength of character to stand up for himself, but also the ability to make the right choice and to reject the battle when more important things are at stake. also, honour, trust - the whole journalist suspicion thing and the guy returning at the end to fight after telling the Millwall lot about the journalism business etc.
two things about this are unfortunate. firstly, these messages are subjective in nature and have been presented in many films already, not to mention more subtly and/or effectively in many cases, and secondly, the film almost seems like an exercise in self parody at times, returning to the waterworks and the silly facials and squaring up and the rest of it. a constant supply of overacting backed by dramatic strings and stone roses and other appropriate music.
i joined the film a little late when it looked very promising, but the whole set up with the drug deal seemed a little flimsy, like it was a half hearted afterthought with regards to placing an American student in a hooligan situation. Matt - Elijah - also makes an emotional exit from Stephen and his sister's home to get stuck into the hammers lifestyle in a move which is made to seem as though it is forced and necessary, when Matt just could have been clever and, you know, not gone and lived with the hooligan. also, how the sister found the battleground at the end, and why she took HER BABY WITH HER boggled the mind. she is fit though, and i've seen her in other films where her acting cannot be faulted.
it must also be noted that the hatchet or whatever the Millwall firm leader was called walked into a chippy and lit up a spliff, and then smacked a guy's head into the table because his girlfriend didn't stop talking? that's overly, unnecessarily macho, in an almost Arnie kind of way that doesn't seem to fit in with the characters. and when Stephen's brother, the leader of the West Ham firm, Ben i think, dies at the end and they crowd around; it wouldn't have surprised me if one of them suddenly said in a mockingly retarded voice 'oh what a surprise that we got together for a grudge row and someone only went and died'.
the themes and the unfolding storyline with the journo sideline and the rivalry between Millwall and irons firms background were all dealt with over dramatically with crisp cinematography and a rousing score, and the cracks in the hastily flung together plot were papered over with over dramatic acting and tears and seemingly an expectancy that the violence would string it together neatly and reinforce it all.
to be fair the British cast paint a pretty accurate picture of a match-day for the firms and the banter is pretty accurate, until of course those histrionics i keep referring to kick in. it almost seems like a dumbed down, conveniently packaged Hollywood vision of the hooliganism issue. a character conveniently inserted into the situation in question, slices of realism to lend authenticity to the project, a load of explanations smugly delivered by the headstrong firm leader for the uninitiated viewer, and then the themes kick in, some convoluted twists thrown in over complicating things unrealistically as opposed to intelligently and interestingly due to a predictable main plot that requires such complications to prolong the viewer's interest - Stephen being the firm leader, Matt being spotted at the Times and the lads jumping to conclusions etc. - and a load of drama and full bodied dramatics from all, before a self indulgent eulogy to reinforce the tragedy and the moral, and a somewhat insipid ending - the bubbles song.
in conclusion, this is a poorly thought out project and it fails to inspire for the above reasons. go watch football factory which isn't perfect but paints a more authentic and indeed compelling picture of hooliganism. this film aims for the lowest common denominator and misses, and you should miss this one if you're after plausibility, an authentic portrayal of football hooliganism and intelligent film making. and if your a hammer chav, go watch that ICF film that's coming out, and do us all a favour and sign Barton up.