Modern life, post September 11th, and the war on terror have given some filmmakers scope to examine the nature of violence, its cause and effect. Asking deeper questions of the apparent bloodlust we as a species have. This is, however, not that...
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Modern life, post September 11th, and the war on terror have given some filmmakers scope to examine the nature of violence, its cause and effect. Asking deeper questions of the apparent bloodlust we as a species have. This is, however, not that kind of movie.
Lexi Alexander gives us no explanations or excuses, and few sympathetic or even likeable characters here, dropping us head first into this violent sub culture, making the viewer complicit in every bone crunching, bloody kick, punch and stomp. The opening melee, smashing it’s way almost off the screen, is impressively handled Inducing winces and flinches alike. Phone Boxes, bollards and the like are all used to powerful and brutal affect quickly setting the tone.
Arriving in London in the aftermath of the brawl is Matt Buckner (Elijah Wood, no stranger to violent and perilous journeys into darkness as the worlds most famous Hobbit). As he arrives we are granted a brief moment of quiet for Alexander to sketch out her characters in broad strokes and sign post major plot points before throwing her impossibly blue eyed lead headlong into the fray. As Wood takes to his new lifestyle with relish we battle through along side him in each scrap grappling every cliché along the blood soaked path. Eventually pulling minor characters in to the downward spiral, the violence like a virus poisoning everyone around them. Spilling inevitably into even the most innocent of lives.
The break neck speed at which events unfold here is a big problem. With actors not given much room to expand character they remain as comically one-dimensional thugs. Jarring use of a clunky voiceover in place of any real exposition, bizarre use of music in the final, slow-mo, pitched battle, almost trying to evoke some kind of Baveheart-like proud warrior mythos for our urban scrappers and a dreadful London accent (Hunnman) all go to make up a run of the mill plot by numbers movie. On the plus side, filmed in a steely grey palette, London looks great, the realism of the locations and, of course, the violence do deserve praise. Ultimately though in a film with no real depth where blood is spilt in place of anything to say enjoyment of Green Street comes down simply to the amount of pleasure one takes from watching teeth break and faces being smashed in.

An absolutely marvellous film, despite the reviews and despite the accents. That mayhem and total loyalty to pointless causes reminds me of the working class England I know. A lot of reviews I read touched on the warped sense of bravado and...
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An absolutely marvellous film, despite the reviews and despite the accents. That mayhem and total loyalty to pointless causes reminds me of the working class England I know. A lot of reviews I read touched on the warped sense of bravado and camaraderie present in the film. But I believe that is the essence of gangs and social structures such as "Football Firms". Crime, extortion, drug dealing and gun running aside, that is the very enigma that gang structures present to sociologists - how on earth do you compete with that family structure and absolute loyalty? Yeah, you could say the film made me think.

This is actually a very good movie, the violence serves to illustrate a point and is not used for violence's sake. Great directing and good acting too. His hobbit-fame makes people forget it, but Elijah is a good actor and Charlie Hunnam delivers...
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This is actually a very good movie, the violence serves to illustrate a point and is not used for violence's sake. Great directing and good acting too. His hobbit-fame makes people forget it, but Elijah is a good actor and Charlie Hunnam delivers a very powerful performance too.