Green Street DVD Review:

After been wrongfully thrown out of Harvard University, Matt Buckner (Wood) heads to London to stay with his sister Shannon (Forlani). When he gets there he meets Pete Dunham (Hunnam), Shannon’s brother-in-law who introduces him to football and his beloved West Ham United but when he gets involved with Pete he also get involved with his firm the Green Street Elite (GSE). Making a name for themselves, as the most feared set of supporters in football, Matt becomes embroiled in their world and soon becomes part of the firm.

Football hooligans have always been a blight on the beautiful game and any movie about them always seems to glorify the violence but can ‘Green Street’ be any different?

Unlike ‘Football Factory’ the movie tries to explain the reasons behind the organised violence that drives the ‘firms’ that associate themselves with the football clubs. Now we see that this is England’s equivalent of the turf wars between the US gangs but they use their fists instead of guns. It is all about respect and their reputation amongst the firms, as these minorities of so called football fans battle amongst themselves after or before each game. The problem is that, as with ‘Football Factory’ the reason for the violence is never explained other than that the thugs involved just love a fight.

The violence in the movie is graphic and realistic but the reactions of the participants are not. After most of the beatings, the boys just continue on with their lives with no real injuries other than a few cuts and bruises. This is were the movie falls down and slightly glorifies the violence, showing that you can take a beating and recover far too quickly. There are no consequences here, neither physically nor mentally and the police don’t seem to get involved much either.

Trying to move away from his usual goody persona, Elijah Wood gives his all as Matt Buckner but he doesn’t quite have the look to be involved in the hooligan aspects of the film. While he tries extremely hard to be the Yank amongst the Yobs but his pretty boy looks don’t really look the part, especially when he is involved with the fighting. Much more believable is the performance of Charlie Hunnam as GSE leader Pete Dunham. He plays the thug well but the script lets him down because the character never really explains what he gets out of organising and participating in the fighting but he is probably the rounded character in the piece.

Supporting the two main players are some typical clichéd performances from the other members of the cast. Leo Gregory as Bover, Rafe Spall as Swill and Geoff Bell as Millwall firm leader Tommy Hatcher are your stereotypical thug types with not a single brain cell between them as they only live for the fight. The beautiful Claire Forlani plays a clichéd dumb woman who tries to save the men in her live from the inevitable brawl at the end, only to put herself in danger. Marc Warren plays Pete’s brother Steve who wants both him and Matt to leave the hooligan life style alone but has a secret to hide.

‘Green Street’ glorifies hooligan violence and gives ordinary, passionate football fans a bad name. It does try and explain the reasons behind the violence but it doesn’t go far enough for you to feel anything for the characters, leaving you to think that they are just mindless thugs who use football as an excuse to have a fight. Instead of an insight into the hooligan mentality, we have an average insight into how these idiots bring the beautiful game into disrepute.

Star Rating = * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented well with a decent picture and sound.

BONUS FEATURES

Interviews

Elijah Wood: From Hobbit to Hooligan (5.17 mins)
The star of the film talks about his reason for getting involved with ‘Green Street’ and moving on from his famous role in the fantasy trilogy. Director Lexi Alexander and Charlie Hunman join him to talk about what he brought to the role and the character he portrays.

Standing your ground: The Violence of Green Street (6.44 mins)
Director Lexi Alexander, stunt coordinator Pat Johnson and stars Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunman talk about the public’s view of hooligans and there take on the violence behind the Firms. They also talk about the realistic approach to the fights, highlighting there none staged look and the problems in coordinating such a large group.

A clear direction: Lexi Alexander (4.15 mins)
The former world kickboxing champion talks about her approach to the movie and the amount of research that when into it. She is joined by Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunman who discuss her style and approach to the movie.

Making of… (3.18 mins)
Director Lexi Alexander and stars Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunman talk briefly about the story, characters and what they think a hooligan actually is.

One Blood – Music Video (3.46 mins)
A promotional music video with scenes from the movie

US and UK Trailers (3.50 mins)
Watch the UK and US theatrical trailers for the movie.

OVERALL

A lacklustre film receives a lazy DVD treatment. The lack of a commentary track is a missed opportunity and the interviews and making of… featurettes are far too short to offer much insight into the making of the movie. Fans will be disappointed.



Jamie Kelwick