The Rise & Fall of a White Collar Hooligan

Budget must have been a thousand quid and that Includes all the wages If you choose to watch it don't say I didn't warn you. Worst acting I have ever seen beyond teletubbies.

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!

Having read the negative reviews on here I decided to have a punt on the film anyway as it was on Netflix and I was just vegging out. After watching the film I had to fire up my Macbook and write a review myself as I feel the negatives on here are a little too harsh on this film.

Lets get something straight from the off, Rise & Fall of A White Collar Hooligan (RFWCH) is not in the same league as Snatch, Lock Stock, The Football Factory or Dead Man's Shoes for example, However Millwall are not in the same league as Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal but that has never stopped me from watching and supporting them, and I have seen some absolutely fantastic Millwall matches over the years.

RFWCH has been criticised on here for its dialogue, which some have referred to as clichéd, but having grown up in Bermondsey and The surrounding areas of South London I can assure you that a lot of men from there and other parts of London speak exactly as depicted in this film, when they are around other men. Would they sit at Sunday Dinner and Ask "F***ing Lovely Roast Mum, Now could you pass me the salt please you F***ing C***" of course they wouldn't. And neither do the characters in this film. The language used is in the context of the conversation they are having and the person they are conversing with.

Personally I found the film to be an easy watch, containing characters that you cared enough about to want to know how it turned out for them. The acting was good, the script was clichéd but good enough (much better than the rubbish the writers on Eastenders have been turning out and getting paid for recently) and the plot was your average Gangster fare with a believable scam rife with the problems that crime must ultimately bring.

Billy Murray was Billy Murray, Ricci Harnett made a decent transition from head stomping Carlton Leach in rise of the foot soldier to a Detective, and relative newcomer Nick Nevern did a pretty good job in the Main role. Rita Ramnani did a fair job of Playing Nick Nevern's girlfriend and Simon Phillips played Eddie Hill relatively well. The biggest let down of the Cast for me was Roland Manookian. People regularly criticise Danny Dyer for being a one trick pony yet for me Roland Manookian simply plays Zebedee in most of the films he's in (there are one or two exceptions).

So to summarise; Its not the greatest film you're ever going to see but if you have an hour and fifteen minutes to kill and you like British Geezer films you wont be disappointed with this film. Believe me I have seen a lot worse than this!

Wes Fazzani

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!

I couldn't resist this as I watch most of the 'geezer' movies that come out. Firstly the title is very confusing. The main character isn't white collar, and his hooligan activities are limited to a short montage in the opening 5 minutes. What it's really about is an unemployed thug joining a credit card cloning racket and rising through the ranks before the inevitable crash. The story more or less follows the trajectory of 'Goodfellas' but obviously no where near as slick of well written. Some of the dialogue is straight out of the 'Football Factory' book and gets far to close to the embarrassment of Danny Dyer's forced tones. The music is also woeful and inappropriate. That said, the credit card scam sections are quite entertaining in a limited beer & curry night kind of way. In closing, I don't know what you would expect from a film entitled 'Fall and Rise of a White Collar Hooligan' but what you get is a flawed low budget crime drama with some limited interesting parts. 5/10