The Firm

As someone who had the highly dubious ‘pleasure’ of witnessing the aftermath following Scots football team Hibernians triumphant winning of the Scottish Final Cup at the weekend, director Clarke’s controversial 1989 drama about the violent world of football tribalism makes everything all the more poignant. Indeed, one must ask the question as to whether the average hooligan possesses any IQ at all…

Gary Oldman delivers a chilling performance as Clive ‘Bexy’ Bissell – a loose cannon with a heavy Cockney accent whose respectable and well-paid job as an estate agent belies his real passion for football hooliganism. Hell-bent on bullying his peers into forming a big national Firm (comprised of smaller firms which then kicks the s*** out of rival firms) for the 1988 European Championships, he sees nothing wrong with intimidating those who question his ambition and vision. If necessary, he’ll beat them into submission like younger fellow peer Dominic (Jay Simpson) who dares to speak out against his plans…
Although supported by his old man Sammy (Albert Bentall) who proudly takes photos of his son and gang posing with all kinds of tools and weapons, Bexy’s wife Sue (Lesley Manville) sees things in a very different light and accuses him of being a looser and a joke to boot, and not at all the ‘local hero’ he fancies himself to be. The couple’s volatile relationship reaches its ugly climax when their little son accidentally cuts his mouth open with a Stanley knife that Bexy left lying around in the flat together with other objects for his planned attacks against the ‘Buccaneers’ – a rival firm lead by the equally violent ‘Yeti’ (Phil Davis). No matter which ‘firm’ – its members are portrayed as men reduced to the behaviour of primates. This destructive and negative behaviour pattern is further exemplified when Bexy’s boys are cheering on two female strippers in a pub with the chant “show us yer tits / show us yer tits.”

From the outset we, the viewer, are subjected to scenes of violence all in the name of football when Yeti and his gang smash up various cars of Bexy’s gang including his own car, even setting one care on fire. This of course starts a war between the two ‘firms’ battled out on the streets of London. In one particular disturbing scene, idealistic young black kid ‘Yusef’ (the late Terry Sue-Patt) has his face slashed by one of Yeti’s members, prompting an almighty war between the two rival firms which leads up to the film’s ultra brutal finale played out in a pub… though no football in sight!
In the epilogue we see Bexy’s gang (sans Bexy) talking to the camera and posthumously championing their Bexy as a true hero while at the same time celebrating the fact that violence is part of the game and comes with the territory…

This DVD and Blu-ray contains various SPECIAL FEATURES, including the rather bewildering ‘Elephant’ – set during ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland. Great idea, however, the concept of various men walking about buildings and shooting various other men for the duration of 39 minutes gets a little tedious after a while and thus loses impact.