A TIME WHEN WE LEARN FROM A STREET HOOLIGAN

By: Eka Novita Damayanti

Film Title        : Green Street Hooligans

Directed by	Lexi Alexander
Produced by	Donald Zuckerman Deborah Del Prete
Screenplay by	Lexi Alexander Dougie Brimson Josh Shelov
Story by	Lexi Alexander Dougie Brimson

Cast

• Elijah Wood as Matt Buckner
• Charlie Hunnam as Pete Dunham
• Leo Gregory as Bovver
• Claire Forlani as Shannon Buckner Dunham
• Marc Warren as Steve Dunham
• Ross McCall as Dave
• Geoff Bell as Tommy Hatcher
• Jeremy Van Holden (Terence Jay)

Matt Buckner, a college boy, is expelled from his campus for some cocaine found in his room. Matt tries hard to convince his campus that the cocaine does not belong to him, either he has the courage to speak  up that in fact cocaine belongs to his roommate, Jeremy Van Holden (Terence Jay) for Jeremy  is a famous family and this guy promise him to clear his name.  

Despite of feeling disappointed and sad, Matt travels to England where he visits his sister, Shannon (Claire Forlani) who marries an English man, Steve Dunham (Marc Warren) and lives there with their only baby boy. There, in Shanon’ house, Matt does not only meet his brother in law but also Steve’s brother, Pete Dunham (Charlie Hunnam) who coming to the house for some money.

Steve agrees to give money Pete needs with one condition he should take Matt to a soccer match that day between West Ham United and Birmingham City, since he and Shannon is going to a party.  Pete does not like the idea but cannot refuse it for Steve only gives the money Pete wants to Matt.

Pete takes Matt to a pub where his friends, the West Ham United hooligan firm or the GSE firm, gather before the match. Sure, they feel a little bit wired about Matt’s attendance since a Yankee normally does not watch or play soccer, but after a while, they get along to each other well and become good friends, except a guy, Bovver (Leo Gregory) that does not like the ‘outsider’ gets into the firm).

After the match, Matt decides to go back to Shannon’s house while all of his new friends go another place to arrange a fight against Birmingham City’s fans. What Matt does not know that some of Birmingham’s fans notice his time with the GSE and think he is one of them. They secretly follow him to teach him a lesson and in a small ally they manage to catch Matt and of course Matt are scared to death.

All he can do is begging them not to punch him and that makes them understand that the guy in front of them is a Yank from his American accent. Then comes a bunch of men so expectedly to the place. They are the GSE that understand this since in the stadium and a fight between the two hooligan firms happen. What makes the fight so special to Matt is that is his first fight. He learns how to punch a guy with his own hand and that makes him proud.  As days go by, Matt become more get use to fight with GSE and that worries Shannon a lot. She complains to her husband for his brother bringing a bad impact to Matt. Steve tries to pursue Matt not to get involve to another fight, but Matt insists that what he is all alright and nothing to be worried about. He even tells them he moves to Pete’s house.

            There are numbers of things that your young kids should not watch out of this movie like massive fight, violence and extra ordinary fanatics of a soccer team. But I think that draws part of hooligan life precisely and that what this movie wants us to see.

There are also numbers of things that we should appreciate about this movie: friendship, truthful, unconditional support to their beloved soccer team, no matter they win or lose the game and that what Indonesian national team supporters should learn from them. And what surprise me is hooligan are ordinary people too, I mean they do care and respect to other like we do and they also do jobs to make a living. Watching the film we finds out that Pete is a local sport and history teacher. He does a gentlemen thing by giving his seat to an old lady in a sub way. And that really touch me!) And at the end of the movie, the fighting lesson Matt learns from his hooligan friends proved to develop his self confidence to get a proof of Jeremy Van Holden's fault.

This movie tells us a real thing that is really happened in our everyday life. Every scene is well developed and all casts do their part so well. Most of them are British, so their sophisticated accent is another good point that makes the movie more interesting.

I strongly recommend this movie for soccer lovers in Indonesia to see. We could take good points and leave the bad to make Indonesian soccer even better.