British football fans take their sport seriously. The ardent ones are appropriately called hooligans, and their fame is legendary. For a time, British fans were even banned from European continental football games, given their inclination towards violence. At games in the UK, if you're rooting for the away team, you must be in the away team section. Which is surrounded by police. For your own safety. People caught in the home section cheering for the away side will be escorted out- again, for their own safety. I've attended three football matches here, and in each case, though I was never personally threatened, I felt the tension in the air between home and away fans. People are out for blood. They're drunk and they're looking for a scrap. Like I said- British football fans get into it.
So, this is supposed to be a movie review. Green Street is a movie about British football hooligans. Specifically, about the 'firms'- essentially gangs that attend every game, regardless of location, looking to fight. Elijah Wood plays an American- framed for drugs and kicked out of Harvard- who goes to visit his sister (Claire Forlani) in London. There he ends up in the West Ham United Firm, and experiences first-hand the horror and 'thrill' of violence. He learns when to stand his ground- and when to walk away. Sadly, it's an expensive lesson.
Green Street is an excellent film. It's violent, the language is foul, but it felt so real. It hit home because I could see it happening here- it must happen here, based on police levels at games and other observations. I was repulsed, horrified, and saddened. On the edge of my seat the whole time. It's so sad that humans will do this to each other- at all, and especially over a game. If you want to 'get' the darker side of British football, watch this film. Don't do it with kids, though. Or squeamish adults.
I need to go watch Care Bears or something.
Rating: A
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