Nick Love's adaptation of John King's novel is
considered long overdue. "The Football Factory" is a
cult classic about a 'firm' of Chelsea fans that live
for their weekends filled with beer, drugs, casual
sex, and violence. Unfortunately, the film fails to
live up to the book, instead it flits between comedy
and gritty realism all the time making generous nods
to "Human Traffic" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking
Barrels", never able to decide whether it's pure
entertainment or serious drama.
The film centres around Tom Johnson who, dressed in
Stone Island and Burberry, is looking for excitement to
lift him from the tedium of his everyday existence.
Tom finds this in the pubs and clubs with his best
mate Rod and the women they chase. They also find it
around the football grounds in London and beyond,
where with the help of mobile phones and juvenile
scouts they dodge OB (Old Bill) and ambush rival
firms. A chance encounter with a member of the rival
Millwall firm sets Tom on a downward spiral which
accelerates when Chelsea are drawn away at Millwall in
the FA Cup.
Tom's friendships with Rob and the rest of the 'firm'
are offset by his close bond with his war veteran
granddad. Bill Farrell is the one oasis of sanity,
common sense and decency in the film, his love for Tom
is real and his advice heartfelt. However, his
influence on Tom is far outweighed by the demands of
Tom's peer group. The fact that questions asked
explicitly by his granddad and implicitly by Tom's
experiences are never answered and often ignored
completely is one of the film's flaws. The situation
becomes worse for Tom as his fears about his future
are manifested in a series of nightmarish
premonitions.
"The Football Factory" is not short on action. The
fight scenes do give a startlingly accurate portrayal
of football violence and the men who perpetrate it.
Fact and fiction are as skilfully blended as the faces
of the actors and real hooligans who make up the
numbers. There are several moments that will revive
bad memories for many football fans, be they willing
participants or otherwise. The climactic scene is
brilliantly shot, the adrenalin almost flowing through
the screen as the two firms battle it out with each other
and the police.
Although Nick Love has great ability to make the
audience laugh, it often felt misplaced in a film with
such brutality at its core. Its characters are stuck
in a never ending cycle of violence, passed down
through families and generations, and the film's
lighter moments seemed to trivialise this. "The
Football Factory" is set to a fast pace and a
brilliant soundtrack. However, just as Tom fails to
answer the questions asked of him, so the film fails
to answer any questions regarding what drives the characters
beyond boredom, which is a shame as such themes were
at the heart of King's novel and were simply glossed
over throughout.
MARK: 6/10
Tim Evershed