Retro Film Review: The Football Factory (2004)

Many Europeans prefer to view their continent as one of the least violent places on the planet. This perception, often presented as a fact during debates about the USA or its current policies, is challenging to uphold when considering the scenes that accompany sports events in the Old Continent. Europe's most popular sport, football (soccer), is closely intertwined with the phenomenon of football hooliganism. England, the birthplace of modern football, also saw the rise of modern football hooliganism. This phenomenon gradually evolved into its own subculture, which later became the focus of numerous books, sociological studies, and films. Some films tackling this subject matter have courted controversy, such as The Football Factory, a 2004 British drama written and directed by Nick Love.

The protagonist of this film, based on John King's novel, is Tommy Johnson (portrayed by David Dyer), a young man whose life revolves around beer, casual sex, and occasional drug use. However, his greatest excitement comes every Saturday when he joins his fellow Headhunters - militant supporters of Chelsea Football Club - in their violent clashes with other football hooligan groups. As Chelsea prepares to face arch-rival Millwall in a Cup match and the Headhunters engage in conflict with the Bushwhackers, Tommy begins experiencing premonitions of his impending demise. This prompts him to question his lifestyle and loyalty to a group that includes drug dealers, right-wing extremists, and violent individuals.

The creators of The Football Factory faced accusations of glorifying the hooligan lifestyle, with these criticisms escalating after the film incited a brawl between rival football fan groups in Sweden. Nick Love could counter these claims by highlighting the character of Bill Farrell (played by Dudley Sutton), a 70-year-old WW2 veteran who admires the martial spirit of young hooligans while condemning their right-wing beliefs. Particularly poignant are scenes that attribute bleak housing estates as a significant factor behind many British youths embracing the hooligan lifestyle. Furthermore, The Football Factory delves deeper by indicting the hypocritical middle class for abandoning working-class Britons to a cycle of poverty, drugs, violence, and right-wing ideologies. While using film as a tool in class warfare is not novel - many British filmmakers have expressed similar sentiments in the past - these themes may have not resonated as strongly in Blair's Britain as they had done during Margaret Thatcher's era.

The acting performances in The Football Factory are exceptional, as expected from British cinema. However, even talented actors cannot fully compensate for the film's primary flaw - a lack of originality. While few films have explored soccer hooliganism, Love's approach bears striking similarities to Danny Boyle's portrayal of heroin addicts' subculture in Trainspotting. Consequently, The Football Factory risks appearing derivative. Numerous scenes appear borrowed from older and often superior films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Goodfellas. Despite earnest attempts to craft an unconventional ending, it ultimately feels predictable and unsatisfying. What once seemed innovative in the 1990s now threatens to render the British cinema industry stagnant. Danny Dyer, on the other hand, exploited the film’s reputation to specialise in role of “hard men” and, later, serve as host of The Real Football Factories, documentary series dealing with football firms in Britain and abroad.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: Original version of the review is available here

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