The Firm

The Firm



Every time you ask anyone if they've seen the Firm, they immediately think of John Grisham and Tom Cruise. Well, wrong Fucko! I'm not talking about lawyers in trouble, I'm talking about a psychopathic Gary Oldman cutting up a guys face with a stanley blade.

Bex Bissell (Oldman) is a well dressed charismatic Estate Agent, who could sell you a burnt down house. His confident boyish swagger is offset by his huge appetite for brutal violence. You see, in his spare time, he's the top boy of a football hooligan firm called the Inter City Crew.

Bex plans to unite all the firms under his rule to take on the Dutch supporters at a European Championship match. As you'd expect, the leaders of his rival firms don't take kindly to Bex's ambitions and challenge him to earn it. He must take his crew into their territory and fight them on their turf. A fight that will test his lads' nerve and face him off against his arch enemy, Yeti (Phillip Davis).

The film is a glimpse into the world of football violence during the eighties, where rival firms aren't mindless yobs, but well organised clever men. Directed by Alan Clarke (Scum, Rita Sue & Bob too) the view is gritty and sometimes unbearably realistic. Watch out for the scene when Bex's toddler son finds his Stanley Blade.

Gary Oldman wasn't long in the acting game when he starred here, but it's obvious by his performance that he was a talent on the rise. Eager and full of vigour, he displays Bex's schizoid character perfectly, ramping up from zero to sixty in no seconds flat.
Oh, and watch out for some soap stars in the making, including Phil from Eastenders and Jim from Corrie.

The film hasn't dated all that badly, but some things stand out a bit. For instance, remember we used the index finger instead of the middle finger to say “up yours”? The very same gesture I use when someone asks me, “ Is that the film with Gene Hackman?”

Verdict 8/10
Like a tin of Tennents with the naked lady on, it's of a different time.