CASS

"The hardest fight is knowing who you are".
Six weeks after birth, Cass Pennant was put into a Dr. Barnado's home, and went on to be fostered by a white couple in Kent where he was the only coloured person in the town. Pennant became the victim of bullies at school and on his way home; a situation made worse by his christian name, Carol. Soon Pennant decided to change his forename to Cass, after the boxer Cassius Clay. A reluctant student on the school of hard knocks, Pennant was introduced to football and began to follow West Ham United home and away. It was here that things started to turn round, with The Hammers' hooligan following offering him a second home amongst one of the country's most notorious firms and a chance to fight back and become accepted by those arround him. Tales of the infamous 'Mile End' mob had travelled the country for years, joined by another bogeyman: the Inter city Firm. For some, Upton Park - home of West Ham - became a virtual no-go area for following your team, and those who did make the trip were always assured of a warm 'welcome'. The name of Cass Pennant became legendary amongst rival firms, and now we have a film which has already been a great success on DVD.

Directed by Jon S. Baird, CASS takes us through Pennant's formative years; his first encounter with football violence, and his relationships leading to a shooting during his new career on the doors of clubs. As a bio pic, CASS often scores highly with Nonso Anozie's central performance soliciting emotion and admiration for a life punctuated by racism and a burning desire to eventually find redemption. Here, it's the quieter and more sombre moments that really hit home: his foster mother's funeral; the moving scene where Cass declines to read the letters sent by his 'real' parents, and his eventual friendship with a black guy sharing his cell all succeed in painting the picture as do solid performances from Nathalie Press as his partner, and Tamar Hassan playing an ex-con.
Unfortunately, the film does miss-fire on occasions. 3 rucks between rival fans fail to adequately convey football violence in truly graphic terms, compelling one to initially question the 18 certificate (although the ubiquitous presence of the word 'cunt' explains that one away)and footage of the appalling Margaret Thatcher and the Millwall riot at Luton are just a few of the directorial choices that could have been left on the cutting room floor. Still, CASS is, for the most part, a more than decent account of an orphan who rose to become a terrace legend and respected author.
Look out for cameos from the great Frank Bruno, and from actual firm members including Bill Gardener and Gilly from Wolves.

GREEN STREET REVISITED

My own list of 'away trips to be treated with caution' would include Spurs, Liverpool/Everton, Boro and West Ham: the latter being almost everyone's worst nightmare.American journalist Matt Buckner (Elijah Wood) finds himself firmly planted in the Upton Park mayhem when he arrives in England to stay with sister Shannon (Claire Forlani). Buckner's expulsion from Harvard - the result of taking a fall for his coke-addicted room-mate - is, along with his profession, kept secret from brother-in-law Steve(Marc Warren) and Pete (Charlie Hunnam); the self-styled 'top boy' in West Ham's Green Street Elite. Although Buckner receives a mostly hostile reception from this ultra-violent firm, the picture changes when a fierce encounter with Birmingham's mob sees him emerge with credit for standing his ground.As the film proceeds, Buckner gets deeper and deeper into the shadowy world of football violence, gaining respect from all but one of his fellow members: Bover (Leo Gregory) becomes jealous of Buckner's relationship with Pete and travels deep into the territory of the Hammers' biggest rivals, but for what reason?Following on from cult fave THE FOOTBALL FACTORY, Lexi Alexander's GREEN STREET features all the things you want and, possibly, a few that you never expected. Confrontations between rival fans are brutal in the extreme, capturing age-old rivalries with an intensity that will surely strike a chord with all those who played (and still play) the game. Strong stuff indeed, but Green Street also demonstrates that many of the combatants are decent people in everyday life with responsible jobs, solid family backgrounds and firm values regarding the things that really matter. Alexander successfully touches base with all the above, and is equally adept at painting the darker side of human nature where individuals grasp the baton handed down by relatives and friends to engage in organised warfare with likeminded people. Although I still believe the definitive 'Firms' picture has still to be made (maybe Danny Boyle will do the honours?), Green Street is, for now, more than good enough. The involvement of Dougie Brimson (script and production) may raise a few hackles amongst past and present boys, and a few scenes (the Manchester 'off', Shannon's appearance during the climax) are possibly a bit hard to swallow, but this should not detract from a job well done. Wood, Warren, Forlani and Hunnam are all excellent, and do look out for Geoff Bell as Millwall's number one: perhaps the most loathesome Cockney screen villain since Sexy Beast's Don Logan.

23rd March will see the DVD release of the follow up: GREEN STREET 2: STAND YOUR GROUND. While I initially welcomed news of this sequel, reading the synopsis has somewhat diluted my initial enthusiasm.

Following the deadly climax of "Green Street Hooligans," several members of the West Ham firm and numerous members of Millwall end up in jail. The GSE quickly discover the brutality of life on the inside, as they are constant targets of the superior numbers and better-financed Millwall crew. Football on the inside and out is followed fervently by the prisoners and wins and losses by both are quickly followed by punishment or reward. This could mean a beating or an extra shower or a day of visitation, which inspires extreme behavior. When overcrowding compels a need for the early release of a fortunate few, fate brings West Ham and Millwall together again this time on a Pitch. The stakes are the highest they have ever been for all concerned with death or freedom quite literally a goal away. Game on.

Ah well, let's keep an open mind for now. I'll be reviewing this one soon as it hits the racks.

AWAYDAYS: THE NEW TRAINSPOTTING?

Based on Kevin Sampson's cult novel, AWAYDAYS is set for UK cinema release in March 2009, after two sell-out screenings at the recent London Film festival. Sampson wrote AWAYDAYS in 1982, but it would be 16 years later before the book was picked up and released. The story is set in late 1979, some six months into Margaret Thatcher's first term which, for many people, was "like watching a virus take hold". The main character, Paul Carty, is 19 and heavily into football and music. Following his mother's death, Paul is offered a way into 'The Pack'; a gang of football hooligans who travel the country seeking confrontation with rival firms. As Paul sinks deeper and deeper into his new lifestyle, relationships threaten to explode amidst paranoia and jealousy.

With a soundtrack boasting songs from Joy Division, Magazine, Wire and The Cure, together with other UK bands, AWAYDAYS promises to be a vibrant, vital slice of British culture and a must-see for those who were there and those who remain curious about the era.

COMING SOON: CASS

29th December sees the release of CASS on DVD in the UK. This film is a dramatisation of the events surrounding the life of Cass Pennant, who was one of the leading figures in the West Ham ICF (Inter City Firm); one of the most feared gangs of football hooligans.

Cass (played here by Nonson Anozie) was placed in a Dr. Banardos orphanage in London in the '50s, and adopted by a white couple. While growing up, Cass was plagued by constant racist bullying, but went on to become a terrace legend while attending West Ham football matches. By all accounts, CASS is a compelling film, charting issues of class, race and masculinity across almost four decades and is sure to be hard-hitting in its depiction of soccer violence. For sure, those who were around at the time will recall trips to Upton Park and vouch for the fact that Pennant and co could always be relied on to make life extremely uncomfortable (and that's putting it mildly). Expect a review early in the New Year.

While you're waiting for the film, check out Pennant's 'Congratulations You Have Just Met The ICF' book.

A FEW DROPS OF CLARET HERE

Reviled by a considerable number of UK film critics, Julian Gilbey's RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER is actually one of the best British crime flicks since THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY. There's a scene right at the beginning which serves as a striking declaration of intent for what lies ahead, as we see three shotgun-blasted bodies lying in the morgue. Suddenly, a mobile phone on a nearby table begins to ring and the answer machine kicks in to reveal a shaky voice exhorting the owner of the phone to return the call. The voice belongs to one Carlton Leach; a nervous man in a four thousand dollar room who is beginning to fear for the safety of his pals. Later on, we get to see him make that phone call, but there's an awful lot of blood to flow under the bridge before we reach that point. Gilbey's film builds on this thoroughly downbeat opening, moving like an express train through three decades, as a cast of wholly unlikeable individuals are steered by top-notch performances. Ricci Harnett is chillingly convincing as Leach, while Roland Manookian, Terry Stone and Craig Fairbrass are just as good in their portrayals of the murdered trio: Craig Rolfe, Tony Tucker and Pat Tate. Add Bill Murray as Essex drug smuggler Mickey Steele, Frank Harper, Neil Maskell and talented females such as Emily Beecham (28 WEEKS LATER) + Laura Beaumont (THE WAR ZONE) and you have a cast that's ready, willing and able to carry off a very demanding script. A good number of the cast will be familiar to those of you who caught THE FOOTBALL FACTORY, and they're tailor-made for this graphic foray into the frightening world of organised crime. While the characters they portray are odious and terrifying in the extreme, Gilbey does go some way towards compelling us to root for them at certain points in the film; particularly during a horrific torture scene where Turkish gangsters inflict appalling injuries on Leach's colleagues in an attempt to discover exactly who was responsible for a missing case of heroin valued at £10million. It's no mean feat to elicit sundry feelings of sympathy for such a worthless bunch, but Gilbey takes us there, while never losing sight of the fact that their actions and way of life spell danger for even the innocent members of society. It could be argued that the involvement of foreign gangsters invading 'home turf' places the likes of Carlton Leach in a slightly different light, and it's not too hard to see why he could be viewed as the lesser of two great evils and become a legend. Go back to the time of the Kray Brothers who were romanticised by many people for different reasons: sure, they helped the old and the poor with hard cash and there were very few rapes or child molestations on their manor (crimes the brothers took great exception to), but look at the other side of the coin and you'll see a world of fear and pain. Here, the violence meted out is probably the most graphic of any British feature: vicious fights on tube trains as football hooligans battle it out; scenes of torture involving stabbings, graphic bodily abuse (flesh-biting, anyone?) and extreme beatings (look out for a bloody one-man war against the fast-food industry, which starts out funny and ends up in hell) are often the order of the day. That little lot has been accused of glamorising violence by learned film critics, but there isn't a moment of glamour in the entire film. Even relationships with beautiful women are tense and largely unfeeling, prompting one to question why the hell they stay with these men? Sorry, but I couldn't find any glamour in a moody undercurrent of simmering violence which frequently erupts, slamming you into the ropes and onto the canvas. These are people you never want to encounter but, in order for their stories to have a high degree of accuracy, it's necessary to show the kind of things that went down. If this film is a bit too close for comfort, Carlton Leach has gone on record as saying that the actual events he witnessed and took part in were even bloodier!

I'll be taking a look at the 2 disc DVD release later this week, but it's worth a reminder here that the two men imprisoned for the Rettendon Land Rover Murders may well be innocent. Could those responsible be Turkish gangsters, local drugs rivals or even the 'Old Bill' who possibly organised the murders with the hope that three of the thorns in their side would be out of the picture? One day, we may learn the truth but for now, RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER exists as an extreme record of the evil that men do, and as a sombre warning to anyone who may be close to sliding down the same slippery slope.

LET'S 'AVE IT!

Sport can often inspire extreme emotions amongst its followers, whether it's football, rugby, baseball or any other team game. My wife has often told me about the fan rivalry that exists between supporters of American football and baseball but she was certainly shocked by the terrifying off-the pitch violence that surrounds English football. I started going to games in the late 60s as a child and by the time the 70s were in full swing, following your local team could be a dangerous occupation. Whether you were attending a home game or travelling to see your team, there were almost always several fights between rival fans, sometimes numbering up to one thousand people on each side with harrassed police officers trying to keep both sets apart, often using police dogs and horses. Making your own way to and from games could be particularly dodgy, but travelling as part of a large group could also attract unwanted attention which meant it was more and more difficult not to get drawn in. Thankfully, things have calmed down over the years, thanks to surveillance cameras, longer judicial sentences and banning orders on suspected gang ringleaders and members which require them to 'sign in' at their local police station on the day of the game and forbids them from entering a certain area between designated times. When the conflict was at its height, rival fans would use bricks, bottles, fists and boots to sort out their differences which were often carried down from father to son. Now, the rival gangs, smaller in numbers, use the Internet and mobile phones to arrange meetings, often miles away from stadiums, and although violent encounters have diminished in number, the ferocity is even worse with knives, baseball bats and machettes being used on occasion. Practically every football team in the country has a 'firm'; a term which describes a collection of violent followers who seek to establish a reputation for being the most feared in the country. Although many older members have 'retired', a new breed is coming through and giving cause for concern to the authorities. Films such as THE FIRM, ID and GREEN STREET have all got to grips with the subject of football violence but, for me, Nick Love's THE FOOTBALL FACTORY is the most successful at telling it like it really was.





THE FOOTBALL FACTORY


Danny Dyer, Billy Bright, Frank Harper, Neil Maskell, Roland Manookian, Jamie Foreman, Tarmar Hassan, Dudley Sutton, Anthony Denham, John Junkin





Boro's Frontline, Pompey's 657 crew, West Ham's Inter City Firm; just a few of the infamous gangs who established reputations as some of the most feared and active mobs in English football. Chelsea’s Headhunters and Millwall’s Bushwackers both played their part in the war on and off the terraces, and Nick Love’s film follows the build-up to an FA Cup tie between these fierce rivals.Based on John King’s excellent book, The Football Factory centres on a group of Chelsea fans, examining the comradeship and bitter feuds that exist between the ‘top boys’ and their troops. Here, the theory that football violence only attracts the disenfranchised is finally laid to rest, courtesy of solid characterisation. We have Tommy Johnson (Danny Dyer) – an average joe whose common decency is marred by his willingness to damage fellow human beings when match days come around.His best friend is Rod (Neil Maskell); another member of the firm, whose loyalty to the cause is threatened when love comes to town. No such conflict of interest for Bill Bright (Frank Harper) – a successful businessman who would pick a fight with himself in the absence of any willing/unwilling persons who find themselves within a 50 metre radius. Bright – a thoroughly nasty piece of work – resents the fact that Harris (Anthony Denham) is the leader of the firm, and sets out to terrorise Zeberdee (Roland Monookian); a younger member who seeks to rise up through the ranks and strengthen his bond with Harris. The older generation is also represented, with Dudley Sutton excelling in the role of Farrell – Tommy’s grandfather – a war veteran who is bound for Australia with his lifelong pal, each hoping to enjoy the time they have left.The Football Factory successfully explores the generation gap, taking in hopes, aspirations and the differing and changing attitudes of men who have literally gone to war, albeit for causes that lie poles apart. As an accurate depiction of football violence, Love’s film also scores highly. The opening assault on a pub full of Spurs fans; the violent revenge attack on a couple of Stoke supporters, en route to an appointment with the red half of Liverpool, and the shattering confrontation between Milwall and Chelsea, deep in ‘bandit country’. It’s all in there, together with ‘spotters’, ‘lookouts’, business transactions between rival thugs (a throwback to those clubbing nights when everyone mixed freely), and watch out for those famous Scouse blades! Granted, The Football Factory does tip its hat to Trainspotting in several areas, and Tommy’s fearful premonitions crop up a few times too many, but this should not detract too much from its overall effectiveness. Raw, violent, compassionate and often extremely funny, The Football Factory will appeal to all those who played (and still play) the game, whether they be old-timers who participated in those often brief 500 per side brawls in days gone by, or the current firms who use technology to organise smaller, more violent ‘offs’. In 2007, the problem still exists and, as this sort of thing has been present in our game for over 40 years, it's unlikely it will disappear anytime soon.