Review of Green Street Hooligans (2005) by Pedro C — 19 Aug 2009

Are you used to seeing Elijah Wood as either a pure hearted Hobbit or his roles as a kid in Forever Young and Radio Flyer? Well in this he's not a sweet little Shireling or an innocent boy who inadvertently releases a frozen, naked Mel Gibson.

He gets expelled (unjustly) from Harvard. As a respite, he flys to England to visit his sister who moved there after marrying a British man. He ends up having to hang out his first day there with his brother in law's brother, Pete, a soccer---oh, sorry, football (don't say soccer!) brawler. Pete enjoys drinking up a storm, going to a match and then beating the tar out of others. But there's more to it than that, as Pete is the head of a 'firm' as it is called there. Here, they're called gangs. But their sole thing is going to matches and knocking around their rivals while maintaining a good reputation. Matthew (Wood) ends up being drawn into and actually develops a liking for it, becoming known as 'The Yank' in Pete's firm. But there's trouble, trouble from a rival firm and in their own ranks from a member who doesn't like Matthew. The second he thinks he has dirt on Matthew, he tries to hang him out to dry.

Great movie all around, funny moments and equally serious ones. It's amazing to see Elijah Wood doing roles like this, he's come a long way since Radio Flyer.