GREEN STREET HOOLIGANS (2005)

Directed by Lexi Alexander. Starring Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Claire Forlani, Leo Gregory. 

Drama/Action/Sports.Synopsis: A young journalism student is unfairly expelled from Harvard and travels to London to stay with his sister and her British husband in the aftermath. There he is introduced to the world of English football and joins a fanatical group of young man fiercely loyal to the West Ham United Football Club. He finds strong friendship, happiness, and loss as he discovers for the first time that there is a time to stand up and fight for yourself. 

Well, I took a look at this one with my hopes up but prepared to be disappointed coming so soon on the heels of what, I thought, was a similarly themed film called The Football Factory. I don't know, maybe its just my love of soccer, or the fact that the World Cup is coming soon, or both, or neither, that drew me to seek out another film about soccer (known in this film, and throughout 95% of the world, as football), but I can tell you that I'm glad I did.

First, this movie is definitely told from an American perspective, so cancel any worries you might have of Iowa born Elijah Wood trying to sound like a tough Englishman. We meet both of the two main characters in the opening scenes, first brash, loud mouthed Pete (Charlie Hunnam) who is leading his group of tough young guys in a heated yelling match against a group of equally tough young guys  in  London subway. The verbal taunts quickly lead to a  brawl and we leave the scene with the image of Pete head butting a rival into submission...quick fade to Cambridge, Massachusetts and the tony ground of Harvard where Matt Buckner (Wood Sin City) is reluctantly and involuntarily leaving the school, having been expelled just shy of graduation. We learn then that his roommate might have, in fact, been the guilty one and Matt is just taking the fall.

Matt hops on a plane headed to Britain to visit his sister, Shannon (Claire Forlani The Rock) and her British husband, who has a brother named Pete. Yes, you guessed it, our gang fighting friend from the subway is being told to entertain unimposing a relatively meek Matt. Pete warms up quickly to Matt, aside from Matt's annoying habit of referring to English football as "soccer" and the fact that he is a Yank.

Pete takes Matt into the world of diehard English football fans, introducing him to the Green Street Elite (GSE), a group of young men (called a "firm") who are united by their allegiance to the West Ham Football Club. Matt adjust quickly to the pub oriented, beer swilling cameraderie among his new friends in spite of their propensity to fight other "firms". We get to see the literal metamorphis of Matt as he takes enthusiastically to Pete's way of life, if with some reluctance from one of Pete's boys in the firm. We also see that Pete has more depth than we would have thought from the opening scenes. Both characters are empathetic, and drive the whole film. We believe the unlikly friendship that forms against the beer swilling, fighting backdrop of English football. I recently reviewed another film much like this one called The Football Factory. I thought this one was a little better because of the character development.

Like Football Factory, this film, to me, is not really about English football or sports in general. Its about what drives the maniacal fans and the bond between them, as well as with those who are just like them, but following other teams. There is some soccer action in this one, including some footage from the English League as well as a scene in which Matt is hapless as the goaltender against some 12 year olds coached by Pete.

The fight sequences, of which there are more than a couple, are well shot, set to music, and very believable. Alexander does a very good job with this aspect of the film. The acting is very good. As I said, the story revolves almost completely around the two main characters, but the supporting players carry the ball well. Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black, The Rock) does well-although I wanted to wring her character's neck at times-as Matt's sister and it was not until the special features on the DVD that I realized that she is really British.

Some people might have a hard time buying Elijah Wood in a role that turns him into a "tough guy", but I think that was probably a point in casting. I think he does well and even flashes some of those creepy looks from his character in Sin City. Well done, Elijah.  

The one who has to take the prize, however, is definitely Charlie Hunnam. He is the center of almost every scene he's in. I don't believe it was necessarily written that way, but his creen presence and acting were perfect for this role. I imagine that some of our British friends might have an issue with his dialect, but it sure worked for me in this film.

A real good film. Plain and simple.