Green Street Hooligans: And We Thought Our Sports Fans Were Nuts!

Green Street Hooligans examines the world of London’s football(soccer to us) fanatics. Every team has gang of thugs that goes around and beats the snot out of the opposing fans. Half the time it seems as though they are more interested in protecting their turf, than watching the matches themselves.

The protaganist is an outsider. Matt (Elijah Wood), a Harvard journalism student, moves to London after taking the fall for his well to do roomie. He visits his sister Shannon (Claire Forlani) but soon falls in with her husband’s younger brother Pete (Charlie Hunnam). Matt meets Pete’s buddies and ends up in a fight with a rival gang. He finds himself strangely intoxicated by the lifestyle and moves in with Pete, becoming a member.

Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam both give very good performances. They have a nice chemistry and their friendship is believable. However, the film dragged, despite a run time of under two hours. I also wasn’t sure at times if the film was arguing for or against the street gangs. It definitely paints them both in a positive and a negative light. The companionship and camaraderie of the group is highlighted, even if the film eventually comes down against the violence in the film’s climax .

Shannon’s husband gets savagely injured and Pete readies his gang for a final battle. It felt a bit too Hollywood-ized, especially for a film that never seemed so before. The ending moralization also seemed out of place when combined with the epilogue where Matt confronts his old roomate back in Boston.

So, am I recommending the picture? I would have to say no, despite the fact that the film is unusual and the world is interesting. It just didn’t quite come together for me when all is said and done. Still, it’s worth seeing when it makes its way to video/DVD.

Two and a half stars out of four.