Director: Lexi Alexander.
Cast: Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Claire Forlani, Marc Warren, Leo Gregory, Geoff Bell, Kieran Bew, Henry Goodman, Christopher Hehir, Terence Jay, Rafe Spall.
Genre: Drama, football.
Plot summary:
Unjustly expelled from Harvard when a stash
of cocaine is found in his possession, Matt moves to London to live with his
sister and her husband Steve. He is quickly introduced to Steve's chirpy,
cocksure brother Pete. Initially, Pete is reluctant to get acquainted with Matt
and allow him yo tread around the capital city with him because he may be seen
by others as an 'outsider', but after a heavy drinking session with him and his
mates, he quickly changes his opinion of him. On the way back from a football
match, Matt is viciously accosted by a gang of Birmingham City thugs, until
Pete and his friends step in and save him. It's from here that Matt learns the
truth about Pete and his friends: they are football hooligans, operating the
GSE (Green Street Elite) firm. Initially afraid of the violence, Matt soon ends
up becoming as desensitized to it as his new friends, but as events roll on,
suspicion, shocking revelations and unsettled scores lead to a devastating
climax where London's most fierce football rivals, Millwall and West Ham
United, are set to go head to head.
Personal review:
I think that the main purpose of this film
is to expose the public the hooliganism phenomenon, that is really taking place
nowadays in UK. However, there is also a big emphasis on the value of
friendship and the loyalty among the members of a crew, as well as the
importance of having something to stand up for.
Researching a little bit on the Internet,
I've found out that this film is not only Matt Buckman's story, but the story
of the female director Alexander. She brought up in Germany with a brother who
was an active member of a firm, and the stories she lived have become the
inspiration for the film. The fact has surprised me a lot and I think that
knowing that Hooligans is crafted from autobiographic material makes the
characters' relationships in the film even more real and touching. It seems to
me that it's ironic that the gruesome and cruel world that appears in the film
is so well documented by a woman, what makes the film more incredible than it
was.
I truly
recommend this film to you guys, you'll love it!
