THIS is a very British film about some of the very worst aspects of British life.
Organised football hooliganism, racism, drug dealing, burglary and general violence are given their turn on the silver screen in The Football Factory - but is that something that we want to pay to watch?
And, in the run-up to Euro 2004, do we really need a big-screen homage to football violence?
The Football Factory treads a very fine line between showing violence and racism and condoning them.
Although preachy films which show 'bad people' learning the errors of their ways can be patronising, you can't help coming out of this film wishing that it had had a Hollywood-style ending in which at least some people learnt and grew - or got their comeuppance.
And because this film doesn't come out and say 'Football violence is bad,' it almost feels like a celebration of it.
The trouble is, cinema glamorises what it shows. So in showing gangs of violent thugs 'kicking each other's heads in' it's unfortunate but likely that the film will encourage a certain percentage of viewers to find the idea of mindless violence more glamorous.
After all, if watching car chases makes you want to drive fast and watching dance movies makes you fancy a shimmy, it seems likely that watching a load of Burberry-wearing lads picking fights with each other might make at least some people feel like going out and picking a fight of their own.
Social responsibility (or lack of it) aside, an hour and a half parade of small-minded people being foul to each other does not make for enjoyable viewing.
It's hard to find anyone to care about or identify with. Even the film's anti-hero Tommy seems like a pretty unpleasant piece of work. The real voices of reason belong to the two war heroes, one of whom makes the point that he went to war to fight fascists like the men that lead the gang of hooligans. But their voices are drowned out in the film which seems to view violence as rather funny and thugs as cheeky rogues rather than the sinister threat that they surely are.
The film might be trying to study male relationships and bonding but it doesn't go into any of its characters' feelings about violence - beyond the fact that they love it - to offer any real insights.
There's some decent acting in here but too many of the characters seem like extras from EastEnders who are trying to build up their part.
In its novel form The Football Factory probably showed its characters' small-mindedness and bigotry for what they are but on the big screen this comes over as too much of a celebration of what is bad about Britain.
sally churchward
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