The Firm: A limp attempt at exploring football hooliganism

Football is a huge sport which is followed and loved around the world. There is a certain level of passion which goes into the sport which can be seen particularly in Europe, and delving further, it can be seen that England is one of the countries in the forefront when it comes to football. But a residue of the passion that goes into the sport manifests itself in the form of hooliganism which leads to violence. An attempt to depict this life beyond the sport has been made with the 2009 film The Firm which was directed by Nick Love.

In 1980’s England, Dom is a teenager who lives in with his parents and hangs out with his regular group of friends, especially spending time with his best friend Terry. When looking for something more to do with his life, apart from slacking off while working with his father and wasting time smoking and break dancing with 

his friends, he has a run in with Bex, the leader of a group of hooligans who strongly support the local football team. Bex develops a soft spot for Dom because of his wit and willingness to do what he is told and invites him to be a part of the group. Dom slowly gets drawn into the world of hooliganism by taking part in fights, visiting cross country football matches and shoplifting from local apparel stores when he can’t afford expensive clothing which will help him fit in. But soon enough, Dom realises that he isn’t cut out to be a thug and struggles to find his way out of a group of people who don’t take lightly to traitors.

The film doesn’t really do justice to the full world of football hooliganism and the passion that actually leads to fans turning into hooligans to defend their turf and their local football teams. The dialogues in the film are riddled with 80s British slang terms which makes it difficult for universal audiences to follow. The film also has plenty of references to local areas and customs which don’t necessarily appeal to an audience that isn’t of British origin.

In all, the film is less about the passion for the sport and the ideology of the fans and more about the stupid ambition of one of its central characters. Without even exploring the full identity of the character that pulls most of the strings in the film and the reasons for his behaviour, the film is just a limp attempt at documenting what football hooliganism is about but fails miserably. It isn’t a film which would be recommended to be watched.