DVD Reviews

Green Street

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Charlie Hunnam
• Details: US, UK, 109 mins, 18s.

Elijah Wood continues to inch his career out of the Shire in this London based film centred around English football hooliganism. Matt Buckner (Wood) is a promising journalist on the verge of graduating - until he is expelled from Harvard when his politically powerful roommate's cocaine stash is found among his belongings. Escaping the fallout, Matt heads to London to visit his sister. Here he hooks up with his brother-in-law's younger sibling Pete and his cocker-knee mates and, after a booze binge, heads to a football match with the lads only to get into his first territorial football fight. The formerly passive Matt is quickly hooked to the adrenalin rush, camaraderie and danger which accompanies belonging to the Green Street Elite firm.
A glossy look at the UK's football firms i.e. the hardcore hooligan fans behind the football teams, Green Street is an entertaining surface examination on the members and madness behind the organisations. While providing an enjoyably digestible insight into the underbelly of the game, Green Street isn't as gritty or informative as it could be. However, the substantial performances (though Charlie Hunnam's London accent is dodgy at times) and rounded plot ensures Green Street courses along at a reasonable pace with just enough narrative thrust to keep viewers glued.

Review by Elaine Reilly