The Firm was an episode of a BBC TV series in 1989. A young 30ish Gary Oldman stars as Bexie — a middle class father, real estate agent, weekend soccer player, and the boss of a hooligan gang.
Bexie’s goal is to form a national firm so they have enough numbers to be a force “for England” at the Euro Cup. But really, the point of the movie is to show that these gangs exist for the brotherhood and buzz of subjecting their rivals to acts of brutality or vandalism.
Oldman performs his usual quintessential portrayal of a psychopath. But the movie doesn’t really get to the heart of why he leads his dwindling group to the certainty of death, so you’re left watching a performance without getting really involved in the story.
If you can only watch one movie about hooliganism — and really, I recommend only watching ONE! — don’t watch this film. Instead, watch Green Street Hooligans — it is 10x better.
Although, The Firm is a hoot to watch Gary Oldman run around on a soccer pitch for 30 minutes. His legs are incredibly skinny.
DVD is in std def and has no extras. In very difficult to understand English, so it’s a good thing they have subtitles.
3 Soccer Movie Mom Rating = 3
Resources
- Release Date: 1989-02-26 (TV)
- IMDB
- WIKI
- Director: Alan Clarke
- Stars: Gary Oldman
- Watch the Trailer
