Green Street Hooligans (2005)

Green Street Hooligans (2005)

Elijah Wood in this film was as unlikely as Daniel Radcliffe as a skinhead in Imperium (2016). I watched both films for the actors, because, frankly, these aren’t subjects that interest me.

In fact, I knew from the start that I would never watch Hooligans 2 or 3. I’ve had my fill! However, just for my own education, I might still watch The Football Factory (2004), which seems a little more accurate and realistic, according to the reviews. It seems that this film is actually a pale imitation of that one. But, in any case, I’ve never been able to stand hooligans, and I think the feeling must be mutual.

Going out for beers, watching soccer games, and getting into fights for fun isn’t really my thing! I’ve never understood the pleasure of hunting down fans of the opposing team. But some people live in a different world. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be cartels, the mafia, neo-Nazis, etc.

As soon as you start watching a film like this, you know it can’t end well. The tension is palpable throughout. England clearly isn’t all good! If only it stopped at art, music, humor, and the sacred teatime…

I found this comment: “Rarely addressed in cinema, hooliganism offers the director a powerful subject and images that are striking enough to make us forget, in shock, the youthful mistakes of a script that uses its fists more often than its head.”

It seems that the film does not reflect reality at all. This way of distorting reality has a name: revisionism.

Of course, before knowing what a hooligan is, one may feel interested in the subject. So, while tackling a subject that is as interesting as it is unusual, this feature film manages to avoid taking sides too much and presents these hooligans in a new light. They are “normal” people from all walks of life, bound by brotherhood and a shared passion for their team and fighting.

There are even moments when they are not so detestable, such as when one of them stands up to give his seat to a woman on the subway. The moral of the story puts an end to this odyssey into a violent and hate-filled world, which is never really shown in an accusatory light.

I also read this: ” The actors, led by Charlie Hunnam, light up the screen and are so authentic that they make an entire generation of actors green with envy. An excellent film in which the director’s missteps remain truly anecdotal.”

Yes, I agree with one point: Charlie Hunnam’s performance leads the fight hands down, without neglecting the rest of the cast, which is strong with good actors. The atmosphere doesn’t lose energy, and the tension builds until the end.

On the other hand, Elijah Wood himself… becoming a fighting pro… I didn’t really buy it!

Despite my objective praise, for me, “Hooligans” is as empty-minded as its protagonists: a dubious and nauseating apology for violence, attested to by the unbearable naivety of Elijah, whom we have known to be more demanding.

A sensationalist title for a rather disappointing film, relatively poor in form, with crude fight scenes that take up a good part of the film.

Yes, I’m quite disappointed with this film, because I was expecting a fictional story that leaned towards documentary style to describe hooliganism. However, the film leans towards basic American productions with an annoying Manichaeism, with good hooligans and bad hooligans, when the characters would have benefited from being more nuanced. I wouldn’t say it’s an ode to violence (although!), but it’s true that there is a particularly ambiguous moral, since the spirit of revenge is emphasized.

Otherwise, I am also very surprised. We are shown a rather flat view of hooligans, who are glorified despite their racism and, above all, their stupid behavior (which is what characterizes them in the real world). Many of them are related to neo-Nazis, and they don’t necessarily have the morals that are expounded at length here, repeating to us that Americans are worse because they have guns and shoot kids. There is a rather crude Manichaeism, whereas the subject deserves to dwell on the psychology of the characters.

Apparently, some people gave it a star just for the final fight scene, which is set to some great music! Everyone has their own way of rating and viewing artistic works. Everyone has their own way of seeing and living life!

The director also made Punisher: War Zone (2008) three years later. Another Marvel film of rare brutality!

I’ll conclude with this final review, which sums up my own:

“Hooligans and the excesses of English football

The film isn’t even enjoyable to watch. It insults to make itself seem manly, but these hooligans are more pitiful than frightening. You can sense the filmmaker’s desire to denounce this violence in sport, but it all remains caricatural, with a more than dubious moral…”