Very good, but could have been even better.

Rating: 7/10 (25 September 2005)

On the one hand this is a good movie with a lot of realism and largely good performances. On the other it stops short of being a great movie for two reasons. The first is the casting of Charlie Hunnam as 'Pete'. Not that he does a particularly bad job of the role, but there are enough young British actors who can actually carry off an East End accent that could have played a more believable character. So poor is his dialect at times it's almost as wince-inducing as the token English guy in the Ocean's Eleven remake, who makes Dick Van Dyke sound like Peter Ustinov. But this film is aimed at the American audience so the grubby antics of the cast still have a quaintness about them that you just wouldn't find in or around Green Lane. For instance, the first reference to rhyming slang is bizarre "you're having a bubble (and squeak)" translates as either "you're having an informant" or, in it's more traditional use, "you're having a Greek". Very few Americans, I imagine, would notice these nuances so as an export product it succeeds.
Elijah Woods is very good in this too. It was a brave move to not play another fantasy character or go for a rom-com and despite my reservations before seeing the film, he has done himself a world of good by showing that he is a versatile and memorable presence. Stalwart of the 'nasty piece of work' role, Marc Warren, is as good as always and could have played Pete with ease.
The other slight problem I have with the film is in it's overall premise. Yes it's a refreshing change from British Police and/or gangster films. Yes, it's not a period piece and yes, thank the Lord God almighty, embarrassing plank Hugh Grant is not in it. Movies about the current working class are sadly few and far between so a portrayal of an Englishman who isn't a bumbling in-bred retard is most welcome. But, it niggles me slightly that at a time where football is growing faster than ever before in the States we send over a film that illustrates a small and hideous part of the game. That said, a movie about a happily married middle class footie supporter would be as boring as most of their lives usually are, and we have demonstrated before that movies about violence without guns are one of our strong points. 'ID' and Alan Clarke's 'The Firm' spring to mind. The comparisons with Football Factory will be all too common, but if that film had never been made I think this one still would have.
But anyway, I always tend to pick out the little gripes. All in all this is a very good piece. Not totally authentic, not completely gritty but shys away from the clichÃ©s, (even going as far as using one of the stars of Football Factory in a bit-part) and provides some edgy entertainment and on the spot adrenaline. Unlike the ode to eternal disappointment, weirdly adopted by West Ham Utd 'I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles', this is a very promising foray and hopefully will pave the way for other larger-budget 'alternative lifestyle' flicks. I'm not convinced it will be in many DVD collections in five years time but it's unbending enough to deserve respect even for that alone.