Did you love Green Street Hooligans? That’s funny ‘cause I did too! I loved the whole notion of football firms and learning about the underworld of English football fighting. That is why I decided to watch The Football Factory (UK) (2004), a movie about a Chelsea firm (gang) and the crazy characters that comprise it. Going into the movie I didn’t really know much about it except that I wanted a load of good fight scenes. Unfortunately I was wrong. Granted there was one rather intense fight against Milwall near the end, the others were more toned down yet realistic at the same time. Needless to say the lack of fighting is not a reason to shun away from this film.
The Football Factory, based off John King’s novel, follows Tommy Johnson, played by Danny Dyer, and his quest to understand where he is in life, where he is going, will he die young, or is it finally time to retire from the firm? The movie does a great job in developing the characters, in fact, it spends a lot of time explaining each one and how the relationships amongst the group members have evolved over time. These developments come from Tommy’s perspectives where he does a pretty good job narrating his fellow firm members’ stories as you become familiar with their personalities. Frank Harper, the guy who played Billy Bright, nailed the part of a genuine asshole quite well. The guy was such a prick it almost made me feel like he was giving Chelsea a bad name while at the same time fighting for their reputation. It is almost comedic at times. I would say he is fatter, uglier, and twice the asshole that Tommy Hatcher was in Green Street Hooligans.
Shot in documentary style, the film is visually rugged at times giving you the full effect of being on the street with the fist loving fellas. The film is also cut rather well allowing the story to progress without any real glitches. The uneven pace is the only real aspect that might throw the progression off. The acting, for the most part, was pretty good and never once turned me off from the movie. It almost makes bored, middle class men want to add spice to their life by joining the fighting ranks. The portrayal and reason for joining a firm is almost similar to the whole concept of joining Fight Club. This offers a realistic reason for joining a football firm.
Overall, the movie was enjoyable even though I was expecting a movie more like Green Street. Now that I look back on it, I’m happy it was different because we need more original takes on popular subject matter. I would recommend this movie to any football (soccer) fan that is sick of watching typical sport based movies. Besides, “what else are you gonna do on a saturday?”
Rating-A unique take on the identity of football fanatics and their firms.
Recent Comments