Green Street Hooligans (2005)

What I don't know about soccer -- oops, I mean football -- is, well, everything. So I was dang surprised to find myself so into this movie.

Elijah Wood is Matt, a Harvard journalism school golden-boy, who gets wrongly expelled close to graduation. He blindly decides to fly to London to visit his married sister, but his timing is a bit inconvenient as his brother-in-law, Steve, had romantic plans that evening. Steve's solution? Send the American to a football match with his brother, Pete.

Matt's knowledge of the game is about as extensive as my own -- but that doesn't matter. He's seduced, much as I was, by the camaraderie and intense loyalty of West Ham's firm (a rabid group of supporters whose own reputation is more important than their team's record). This reminded me a bit of "Fight Club" -- I could see how putting your body on the line could be intoxicating and how being part of something bigger than yourself can give greater meaning to your days. The violence in the film was shocking and brutal, but it was also invigorating.

At one point, Matt says something like he's learned that there are times to stand up and times to walk away. This film does a wonderful job of showing the importance of both.

A-