Rise of the Footsoldier (R)

Based on the real life story of former football hooligan firm leader Carlton Leach, the 2007 biographical crime piece “Rise of the Footsoldier” takes elements of European Football hooliganism and adds the grey and powerful undertones of a gritty British gangster film to create an exciting movie. Not a huge success financially, “Rise of the Footsoldier” has probably been missed by many crime movie buffs, and due to its bloody nature and torture scenes, its not for the easily offended.

“Rise of the Footsoldier” plays out in a near identical fashion to the American mob classic “Goodfellas” with some uncanny coincidences; both take place in approximately the same time frames, both are narrated by the central character in the story as he goes through the ups and downs of a life of crime, and both are based on real events.

“Rise” opens on December 7, 1995 with a grizzly morgue scene depicting the aftermath of the horrifically gruesome triple homicide in Essex, come to be known as the Rettendon murders.

The narration takes the story back twenty years to 1975, and following the next two decades in the life of Carlton Leach (Ricci Harnett) as he goes from hooligan brute, to leader of the infamous Inter City Firm, and eventually to the upper echelon of London’s criminal underworld.

Like its American cousin “Goodfellas,” “Rise” is a brutal movie with rampant bouts of gratuitous foul language and disturbing violence. We see chilling roles portrayed in perfectly cold and wicked fashion from Harnett, who is neighborhood loyal almost to a fault, and his cohorts in crime, the flamboyant Tony (Terry Stone) and the psychotic enforcer Pat (Craig Fairbrass).

One particularly gruesome scene depicts a group torture carried out at the command of a pair of Turkish mafia bosses knows as the Baran brothers (Dhaffer L’Abidine and Mitchell Lewis). Though in a limited role, the Baran brothers make a perfect representation of how brutal and wicked the men are, with Kemal threatening to not only have the victims wives and children killed also, but to have them raped beforehand.

“Rise of the Footsoldier” brings the damp and dirty streets of Essex to life with a blend of perfect visuals and great cinematography. The tones used to depict the events keep each era in the twenty year story perfectly compartmentalized as you rise along with Carlton.

As we witnessed in the fictitious tale “Green Street Hooligans,” the Brits take their soccer/football very seriously. “Rise” takes this violent passion to a whole other level – and the scary thing is that its all too real. Carlton is hardly a sympathetic character; as a young hooligan he engages in head bashing fights with “rivals” from other firms, eventually letting the hooligan lifestyle come before his wife and child. In order to muscle up, Carlton begins an arduous fitness regime, complete with a Fundament injection of steroids. Ricci Harnett is a great and unheralded actor. His dark eyes depict a remorseless killer.

As Carlton leaves hooliganism for more profitable and illicit activity, he is shown to be a man who is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, and the type of person you wouldn’t dare cross. Simply put, you would not want to have a cup of tea with this man.

One flaw in “Rise” is that it fails to dive deeper into the story of Carlton Leach. Beginning with him as a sixteen year old in 1975, once he leaves the ICF the story slips away from him just a little and tends to focus more on his cronies Tony and Pat. Still, the ending result does a good job of showcasing the life of a career criminal that most folk this side of the pond have never heard of.

If you’re looking for a great British gangster film, and one that flew under the mainstream radar, check out “Rise of the Footsoldier.” While not nearly as super as “Goodfellas” its still an entertaining watch.

by – Matt Christopher