Earth Hour 2010
Growing steadily every year since its kick off back in 2007, Earth Hour returns... [more]
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- DVD
Run Time: 127 mins
Rating: MA 15+
Starring: Danny Dyer, Frank Harper, Dudley Sutton
Director: Nick Love
Nicely timed for the build-up to the upcoming World Cup being held in, God help us all, Germany, The Football Factory tells the tale of young Tommy Johnson, an unreformed and unrepentant English football hooligan.
Tommy (Human Traffic’s Danny Dyer) is a Chelsea supporter of the old school. For those that remember the 80s, before it was a glamour club with posh supporters and a Russian billionaire behind it, Chelsea had a reputation for a hard core of violent, often fascist fans who formed gangs with names such as the Chelsea Headhunters. Nowadays, however, the extreme politics are largely gone and what are left are groups of bored men whose recreational interests don’t extend beyond lager, cheap drugs, casual sex and organised battles against rival football fans.
On one level, The Football Factory is a fascinating insight into a world that’s as alien to sun-drenched Aussies as it could be. It offers a glimpse at a generation of British men who literally can’t see past the next match/fight/pint/line. This is thrown into context by Tommy’s grandfather Bill, who is about to retire to Australia, and who is trying to convince Tommy to come with him. As Tommy’s life starts spiralling further and further out of control what we’re left with is a pretty simple “will he or won’t he?” redemption story.
And that’s the film’s main problem because Tommy is neither likeable nor despicable enough for us to really care what he does. What’s left is a series of increasingly brutal fight scenes and an admittedly decent soundtrack featuring The Libertines, Primal Scream, The Streets, Orbital and The Freestylers, amongst others.
And that’s all there is to say really. If you like football and a bit of biff there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours (other than trying to stir up trouble at the next A-League match), but if you want a decent examination of football hooliganism, look elsewhere.
Rating: 3/5
