An American abroad is introduced to the heady but dangerous pleasures of violence in this powerful drama from Great Britain. Matt Buckner (Elijah Wood) is a journalism student from America who is expelled from college when his roommate sets him to take the fall after drugs are found in their dorm room. Needing time to sort out what his next move should be, Matt travels to London to visit his sister Shannon (Claire Forlani), who has married British Steve Dunham (Marc Warren). As it happens, Matt
arrives at a less than opportune moment, and he ends up spending his first evening in the U.K. with Steve's brother Pete (Charlie Hunnam). Pete hangs out with a "firm" of friends who call themselves "the Green Street Elite" and are passionate fans of the West Ham United football club (Matt quickly discovers calling British football "soccer" is an easy way to get your teeth knocked out). Pete has little use for Matt until the Green Street Elite get into a dust-up with another firm; Matt turns out to be a fierce if inexperienced fighter, and discovers he enjoys the kick of street brawling. Matt is cautiously accepted by Pete and the other members of the firm, and is soon absorbed into the very British world of violent football fandom. But when Pete and his friends learn that Matt studied journalism, they begin to suspect he's a reporter doing an undercover piece on hooliganism, and they set out to teach him an ugly lesson about loyalty. The debut feature film from British director Lexi Alexander, Green Street Hooligans (initially shown simply as Hooligans) was the first film ever to win both the Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Pic amply demonstrates that Alexander -- director of Johnny Flynton, 2003 Oscar nominee for dramatic short -- has the chops to bring a fresh take to onscreen rough stuff.
Hunnam e Wood exibem imensa segurança ao carregarem o filme, que também desperta nosso interesse através da análise dos motivos que levam pessoas comuns à violência das torcidas organizadas.
At least three writers collaborated on a script that drums out loudly its themes of loyalty, honor and revenge, and the finished product dances quickly enough between cliches to make for passable entertainment.
German kickboxer-turned-director Lexi Alexander's brutal, unsparing portrait of disaffected youth running rampant amid the football stands and terraces of jolly old England.
Superb acting and very emotional drama. You immediately get sucked into the story. Additionally, it also has great pacing and a highly intriguing storyline. Final rating: a weak "4" from me.
July 10, 2007
Mike S
Super Reviewer
Along the same kinda lines as 'The Football Factory' but nowhere near as gritty and in your face, this film suffers from a slight case of Hollywood glitz. Not just because Elijah Wood is in it, that is one reason of course, but the violence just seems more coordinated and setup haha whilst the many British actors in
the film all have rather hokey cockney accents which are rather forced, some not all.The film centres around West Ham United Firm 'GSE: Green Street Elite' although the real firm is called 'ICF: Inner City Firm' and follows the guys around as they go to matches and plan on fights with rival firms. Nothing much different from other 'firm' flicks but the added plot of Yankee Wood who slowly fits in against his UK based sisters wishes and grows to enjoy the lifestyle.No one really that well known in the film accept Wood who is TOTALLY out of place in this type of flick but I guess that's the idea right. Only thing is you simply can't see Wood ever getting tough enough to do what he does in the film, never in a month of Sundays.Good entertainment but using allot of artistic license and second best to 'The Football Factory' and 'The Firm'....if your into these types of films.
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