Cass - DVD
Directed by: Jon S. Baird
Starring: Nonso Anozie, Nathalie Press, Leo Gregory, Paul Kaye, Tamer Hussan.
Certificate: 18
Running time: 108mins
Release date: 29/12/08
‘Cass’ is the biopic about the life of Cass Pennant, one of the most powerful and notorious football hooligan big wigs ever.
At the start of the film we are thrown into the deep end of the action as Cass is shot in the chest by a hooligan from a rival firm, and this scene does just as its intended, it gets your attention. The film takes us from when Cass (or Carol, as his foster mother calls him) is just a wee baby, all the way through his teen years, right into adulthood when he becomes king of West Ham United’s Inter City Firm.
The common denominator from all eras of Cass’ life, whether he be in the cot, on the way to school or in prison, is his exposure to racism. From this the film shows how Cass is moulded into what he became. Being in a gang of hooligans provided him with a sense of belonging he couldn’t find anywhere else. So long as he wore the claret and blue of West Ham, and battered his rivals senseless, his fellow gang members couldn’t care less about the colour of his skin.
The performance from the superb Nonso Anonzie is pretty convincing and he conveys the spectrum of Cass’ personality well, from caring father to a raging bull that smashes all before him. Tamer Hassan pops up as Cass’s good friend Ray and is excellent, as is Paul Kaye in a very different role from what we’re used to. Kaye plays a hooligan from a rival firm belonging to Arsenal and his character is down and dirty street scum. Kaye is very effective to the point I wished his character popped up more often.
Although there are good elements to the film, there is something that doesn’t quite hit the mark. The film focuses on the ‘what happened’ very well but there is not enough on the psychological aspect of Cass. There are big hints as to why he was the way he was, but a deeper examination of these aspects would have made the film more absorbing for me.
Also, the scenes with the brawls and fights do not have the impact they should. These scenes are filled with chaos and frantic fighting, but there is no punch (excuse the pun) that makes you grit your teeth, think ‘ouch’ and make you feel a part of the action. A key scene is when one of Cass’ sidekicks gets jumped by three rival hooligans who cut him to ribbons and leave him needing 1000 stitches. This scene is strangely under-stated, shot without the raw brutality of such an attack. Its touches like these, or lack of, which lets down the film.
Cass Pennant is undoubtedly a larger than life character (literally, he stand six foot five inches) who made an impact on those around him. He has been though tougher times than perhaps most of us will and has emerged a better man for it. It’s just a shame that the film doesn’t match the man’s charisma or ability to make an impact.
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Radical islam is the snake in the grass.
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