The Firm (2009)
Set in the 1980s, Dom is a teenager who finds himself drawn into the charismatic world of football 'casuals,influenced by the firm's top boy, Bex. Accepted by the gang for his fast mouth and sense of humor, Dom soon becomes one the boys. But as Bex and his gang clash with rival firms across the country and the violence spirals out of control, Dom realizes he wants out - until he learns it's not that easy to simply walk away.
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Best movie ever!
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
An extremely accurate and authentic portrayal of what life is in the UK. The biggest question that films like this, green street etc leave me asking is..why on earth is the UK NOT considered a 3rd world country? It has no system of law and order, a justice system that has no concept of punishment and a police force who peruse speeding motorists with pure aggression and casually ignore rape and robbery. A society whose dependency on alcohol and violence has some balls calling countries with a marginally lower GDP ' 3rd world' . It is without question, the most violent, backward and dangerous country on the face of the planet with a 'legal' infrastructure.
Dom is a teenager who finds himself drawn into the charismatic world of football 'casuals,influenced by the firm's top boy, Bex.Accepted by the gang for his fast mouth and sense of humour, Dom soon becomes one the boys.But as Bex and his gang clash with rival firms across the country and the violence spirals out of control, Dom realises he wants out - until he learns it's not that easy to simply walk away.I do like Nick Love. Sometimes his movies and him are subliminally referred as the British Uwe Boll. This isn't the case. His films are an acquired taste.It's a shame then that he has gone slightly downhill remaking the classic BBc drama of the eighties. That was a gritty film, not glamorising the violence, and Focused on Bex's family life struggling with his obsession of football. And it was sometimes very funny with it's witty script.Even though this film is entertaining, they have made a huge mistake by not focusing on Bex as the main character, they have decided to go down the route of every football hooligan flick, and focus on a newbie.And it just doesn't have the same impact. The Football Factory/Green Street/Awaydays have already covered this, so why did Love decide to take a step back.Other than that though the film is quite solid, and a lot of the characters are amusing, and if you are a fan of the eighties, you will feel a little bit of nostalgia hearing music and seeing TV shows and the fashion.So it's not all bad, but sadly a little disappointing, especially the scenes that are taken right from the original.If you haven't seen the Oldman version, see this first, and see a true classic.
It has no soul, no heart. It's empty, absolutely one of the worst films I've ever seen.You can't help but compare it against the original, but even taken in isolation this stinks to high heaven.Several scenes stand out for a complete lack of any actual emotion, and for a subject that's suppose to be about intensity, just that raw emotion, that's really quite staggering !! How any film with such a passionate subject could somehow manage to completely avoid invoking any passion - I just can't describe. It's like it was made as some sort of joke, perhaps ?The fight scenes are a ham-fisted joke, the confrontation between Snowy and Bex actually had me laughing it was so awful."Put your hands together for..... Stanley" ?It's the nearest to a round of applause this tripe will ever see.Absolutely awful - all involved should be thoroughly ashamed.If you're a film student perhaps, it's worth a look. File under "How not to do it".
From start to finish you will find The Firm very enjoyable, a killer soundtrack,flash clothes and very good feel for being back in the eighties thats sure to conjure up some nostalgia. Nick Love makes a humorous and attractive film which also packs a punch in delving into football hooliganism throughout the eighties. One thing that its lacking though is a real introduction into the casuals,the main rival (Yeti) isn't present enough and as tough as he is meant to be, and the only two characters that stand out are Bex and Dom with their very funny and dramatic relationship,the other boys in their firm are quite poorly presented too they have a handful of lines and are therefore wasted characters that would add a more overall feel to the hooligans. But if you can get over this minor fault, you will enjoy the fights(their brilliant),the insight into hooligan life and being back in the eighties(a scorching soundtrack). Enjoy Nick Love's finest work yet.