The Rise & Fall of a White Collar Hooligan

Since i have slagged off Press on Features considerably in my previous reviews, i feel i should make it clear for clarity's sake that not all of their output has been drab and vanilla waste as i've hinted at previously. Look no further than at what i guess what you could call their most iconic release, a Poundland staple, Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan.

Released at a time when both the gangland and Hooligan genres were in decline, this film combined the two, cleverly, admittedly, as a way to pick up the scraps of niche interest left over from the early 2000's. The result was an exploitation (and not the last one) of a true life account of a credit card fraudster with an "oh so indeed" frustratingly misleading title slapped on and the new wave of low budget Brit crime cinema crashed into our supermarkets. The Hooligangster film had arrived and has not left since.

So, enough history, how's the film itself? Not bad. The quintessential low budget DV-era crime film. It has a clear idea of what it is and rarely bandies about with bringing the goods, all budgetary restrictions considered. Nick Nevern serves well as the small fish, big pond hood and is additionally served well by a good supporting turn by Simon Phillips and a well-balanced script that never struggles for politicisation and instead settles with sympathy for our protagonists.

The clue is in the title. They are just atypical white collar guys, like the intended audience, who happen to embark on this underworld odyssey. There is really not a bad turn in this by anyone in this really. Unadventurous or safe yes, but never disastrous or insipid. It's a story that keeps your interest despite lacking the bombast of the more notable entries it apes consistently throughout the running time.

Is it the best of it's kind? Maybe. Taking into consideration that it spawned a trilogy of steady quality, it's hard to argue anything of it's kind matches it in success. But with the increasingly ambitious (and enjoyable) works of the likes of Nicholas Winter and Terry Lee Coker upcoming, it might be only a matter of time before a new style establishes itself and closes over this fine ride of austerity era gangster fantasy.

I admit it, I'm not exactly the biggest football fan out there. So, when I sat down to watch this film I wasn't expecting it to be my cup of tea, but I couldn't have been more wrong. WHITE COLLAR HOOLIGAN is a brilliant crime thriller that, I thought, was very well made. The directing and acting here are equally excellent and really keeps you hooked to the screen. All the characters are highly believable and you'll no doubt find yourself empathising with them as things just keep getting worse and worse.

I can recommend this movie not just to football fans - the film's obvious audience - but also those, like myself, who enjoy the rush of a great crime thriller. Lots of swearing, violence and drama. Great stuff!

This is definately a crime movie, far away from hooliganism as we know it, its about scams,leaking your and mine accounts, snitching,high flying lifestyle, a little bit of beating, a narrow story told by the main carachter, its main stream english ganglionism, made a bit more eatable for the layman,and for sure will dissapoint the squemish high violent brittish gangster movie fan. lots of bad language there is but thats also the most offensive in this flick. its like a hard boiled fist fighting,can throwing hooligan...... toothless.

So I'm fresh of watching Green Street 3 and I wanted a film of the same feel so I watched this expecting exciting fights and brutal violence... but friggin NOOO!! This is super boring and barely has any action. It's mostly just dealing with mafia issues and super long boring talks either held in a cell or restaurant!! But yeah there's also sequels to this so ya know I gotta see if this series gets better!!

Fair play to Paul Tanter and a little from Simon Phillips. Film doesn't go anywhere that will entertain you. There's only so little you can do to tell stories about hooliganism and football fans.

The "Geezer" film has become a staple of the British Film Industry in the last 15 years or so, popularized by the likes of Guy Ritchgie and then carried on in films dealing with either football hooliganism, violent crime, or both.

"The Rise & Fall Of A White Collar Hooligan" doesn't offer us much new, to be honest, but does it's job as well as can be expected. We get your typical footie loving hooligan Mike, played very well by Nick Nevern, who can't get a job in these disparate times etc etc. He's fixed up by fellow footie battler Eddie (an excellent turn from Simom "Jack Falls" Phillips) who introduces him to the world of organized credit card fraud. From here on, we follow his crime career with plenty of swearing and some, but not too much, violence.

It's a good film that builds its characters well, using two of the better up and coming Geezer actors of recent years. the old school is represented by Billy Murray, playing his usual type, but the main focus is on the two leads, who carry the film with style. Oddly, the football element does not sit with the rest of the film, and as it doesn't advance either plot or character could be erased without any detrimental effect to the film as a whole. So, not up there with "Rise Of The Foot Soldier", but worth your time if that's your idea of a good night in.... geezer!