| The Firm | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Alan Clarke |
| Produced by | David M. Thompson |
| Written by | Al Ashton (as Al Hunter) |
| Starring | Gary Oldman Lesley Manville Phil Davis Charles Lawson |
| Cinematography | Ben Philpott Richard Philpott John Ward |
| Editing by | John Strickland |
| Distributed by | BBC |
| Release date(s) | 26 February 1989[1] |
| Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Firm is a 1989 British drama film directed by Alan Clarke and written by Al Ashton for the BBC, starring Gary Oldman as Clive 'Bex' or 'Bexy' Bissel. 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). The film is notable for having almost no musical score or diegetic 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, it was similarly praised and condemned for its depiction of violence. The story of The Firm was adapted by Nick Love, in 2009.
In 2011, Total Film named Oldman's portrayal of Bissel as the best performance of his career, describing it as "stunning".[2]
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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.
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:
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