The Firm, acclaimed British television director Alan Clarke's last feature film, deals with the football hooliganism that was such a serious problem in England during the 1980s. Gary Oldman stars as Bex, a real estate agent whose true passion is being the "top boy" of the Inter-City Crew, or ICC, from West Ham (based on the real-life Inter-City Firm). As the film opens, Bex is engaged in a football match while his car is being vandalized by rivals from Birmingham, led by Yeti (Mike Leigh regular Philip Davis, who also co-starred in Clarke's Scum). His mates urge Bex to seek violent revenge immediately, but he has other plans. Bex calls a meeting with the two other major "firms" in England and proposes that they band together for a trip to Germany to face off against Dutch hooligans at the European Cup. But his rivals balk because Bex insists on leading the new national firm. It's decided that whichever firm comes out on top in a round robin series of battles will lead them all to Germany. But Yeti continues to target Bex and his crew, and as the violence escalates, there's growing dissension in the ranks. Further complicating matters, Bex's wife, Sue (Lesley Manville, Oldman's one-time wife and another Leigh regular), takes a dim view of his violent "hobby," and their relationship takes another hit when their toddler son gets hold of Bex's beloved Stanley knife. The Firm's airing on the BBC created some controversy. Clarke went on to direct the influential experimental film Elephant before he died of cancer in 1990. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Review
No other director has captured male aggression on film with the keen eye of Alan Clarke. Clarke's specialties are anger and violence, and he captures them with a brutal precision that belies the inherent messiness of the action. It's all shot and edited so effectively that the audience can nearly feel each blow. With his scathing drama, The Firm, he takes on football hooliganism and the mercenary ideals of Thatcher's England. Bex, played with virtuosic blend of ferocity and charm by Gary Oldman, is not the stereotypical skinhead thug, but, essentially, a yuppie. Clarke cannily introduces Bex as a family man who clearly loves his wife, Sue (Lesley Manville), and their young son. Initially, it seems that Bex is far more rational than his mates, as he resists their exhortations to seek immediate violent retribution when his car is vandalized. Clarke and Oldman, working from a script by Al Ashton (EastEnders), gradually reveal the depths of Bex's depravity. In the world of The Firm, football and provincialism are merely excuses for preternaturally angry men to unleash terrorism upon each other. With his marriage on the verge of collapse, Bex is unable to relinquish his position as "top boy" of his crew. "I need the buzz," he moans, pleading with Sue to understand his unquenchable appetite for destruction. Clarke, who was actually a football fan, and Ashton reveal an ugly side of spectatorship, as certain fans see their own noxious behavior as more important than the sport they claim to love. While its critique of the Thatcher era is a bit oblique, the film is trenchant in its treatment of masculine identity tied to aggression. The level of barbarity the film reaches may strain credulity a bit, but Clarke pulls it together with a bitterly ironic, "triumphant" ending. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
The Firm is a 1988TV film directed by Alan Clarke and written by Al Ashton. The film is based on the activities of the Inter City Firm, football firm of West Ham United during the 1970s and 1980s although in the film the firm's name is changed slightly to become the Inter City Crew (ICC). Rival football fans battle it out on the streets in this powerful television drama starring Gary Oldman as Clive 'Bex' or 'Bexy' Bissel. The film is notable for having almost no musical score or diagetic music, save for Dean Martin's rendition of 'That's Amore' over the opening titles. The film features Phil Davis, Charles Lawson and Steve McFadden in his acting debut.
As with most of Clarke's films, the film was similarly praised and condemned for its depiction of violence. The film is often described as being among the best of the football hooligan genre of films. Its current rating on Internet Movie Database is 7.0 out of 10 with over 1255 votes counted. It has not registered enough votes at either Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic to produce a rating.
Bexy is a married man with a baby son and it is clear his wife does not approve of his activities as a football hooligan which provide contrast to his respectable job as an estate agent. Even when his baby son injures himself with a Stanley knife carelessly left around by Bexy he is unwilling to give up his interest in violence as he admits it gives him a buzz. Conversely, Bexy's father shows some degree of acceptance of his son's lifestyle and may have been involved in similar activities in his own era. Bexy uses his natural leadership qualities to cajole (sometimes to the extent of intimidating those less eager) and encourage his peers and plays a key role in organising trips to rival firms. He also has a vision of a national firm, which would join all the smaller firms into one. But his ideas are not accepted by other firm leaders.
Bexy and his fellow hooligans clearly only possess any kind of social status amongst their own groups and Bexy obviously relishes being looked up to and admired by the younger lads in his "firm". Bexy and his friends think of themselves as important, respected figures in their local community but Bexy's wife points out to him that the truth is somewhat different. Everyone thinks of him as a bit of a joke figure but because of their fear of his violent nature few are willing to point out to him that he isn't the working class hero he thinks he is.
Towards the end of the film the pointlessness and futility of being involved in football violence is characterised by the main character Bexy being shot dead by Yeti, the leader of "The Buccaneers" one of their rival firms during a violent clash. Despite the senseless killing of a family man with a child, Bexy's followers still regard him as a hero figure and claim that when they are fighting European thugs at a forthcoming tournament they will be doing so in memory of their dead leader. This part of the film shows the hooligans from three different firms, which were fighting each other not long ago. They claim that Bexy is a visionary that brought them together, so Bexy becomes a legend in the eyes of the other hooligans.
VHS and DVD releases
The film was first released on VHS on 21 Oct 1996 in a double pack with the similarly themed ID, with a standalone release following a few years later. A DVD was first released by Prism Leisure on 2 Feb 2004. The film has been sold as part of numerous box-sets, often packed in with other films of a similar nature or from director Alan Clarke. On 10 Sep 2007 a special edition DVD (released in collectible SteelBook packaging) was finally released by BBC. Extra features on the special edition include:
An introduction to the film by David Leland
A documentary on the life work Alan Clarke
Timewatch: A documentary exploring the roots of football hooliganism
The Late Show: Panel discussion and critical reaction to the film
