old.cbuzz.co.uk
running time 1hr 35 mins
This break comes when he, two other officers and a sergeant are sent undercover to expose the notorious 'Shadwell Dogs', an organised group of hooligans named after the fictitious team which they support. John fits into his character rather too well, much to the annoyance of his superiors, and soon finds himself loving his new life and leaving his old one behind.
Dinsdale treads the very thin line between bad acting and credibility (there are only so many sunken eye stares an audience can take ) as John ends up looking like a deranged Michael Douglas. However, Dinsdale pulls the role off quite effectively. If anything, the transition between nice John and nasty John happens rather too quickly. ID is brilliantly directed and cut and the crowd scenes are excellently controlled and frighteningly realistic.
The film lays heavy criticism on the role the police play at football matches and this may overshadow the real poin of ID, that hooliganism IS wrong. In this capacity ID also falls short of it's glorification of this problem - close companionship amongst hooligans and the over the top male bonding is not sufficiently cancelled out by Johns' social demise and loss of sanity.
The audience when I went was made up of short haired 20 year olds - no surprise as the film is targetted at them. Alarming, however, is the fact that they were laughing and jeering at the scenes that were supposed to be shocking and horrific.
ID is very well made and has a brilliantly constructed and well thought out plot. However, the message it gives off isn't preaching to the converted but merely amusing the partly guilty. This is a film that has been a long time coming but has fallen into the trap of romanticising this bloody, violent trend. (djw)