Awaydays (2009)

You would think a film that (more or less) opens and closes with 'Decades' by Joy Division, is set in Manchester in 1979, and features prominent bands from the era, is set for greatness. Even Anton Corbijn's impressive partial biopic of Joy Division front man Ian Curtis, Control (2007), doesn't feature 'Decades'. In fact, everything that's good about Pat Holden's Awaydays is to do with the setting and the music; the mise en scene truly makes you feel that you're part of the time and place, right down to the clothing and the haircuts. And the music, well, it's arguably never been bettered in terms of epoch. The problems with the film lies in everything else. Carty, after the death of his father, is desperate to retain some sort of purpose, and dreams of joining a local football firm led by Stephen Graham's Godden, and his integration is led by Liam Boyle's Elvis with whom he forms a close bond. Awaydays doesn't glorify football hooliganism in the way that the appalling Green Street (2005) tried to, but neither does it do much else. It's easy to understand Carty's troubles with the loss of his father and his need for sense of place, but it's less easy to appreciate his constant failure to follow through on his promises to his younger sister, especially as their relationship seems extremely close. It's pretty obvious from the early scenes that Elvis has strong feelings for Carty, but Elvis' place amongst the firm is constantly hard to get to grips with; he brings in new blood in Carty but is forever either on the fringe of the group as an almost outcast or front and center, a juxtaposition that's never ironed out. As for the violence itself, it's pretty dull and pointless; at least in Nick Love's adaptation of The Football Factory (2004) Danny Dyer's character fronts up right at the beginning, stating he simply likes "occasionally kicking the fuck out of someone" and there isn't really rhyme nor reason to his hobby. Awaydays flirts dangerously close to Green Street at times in its lack of meaning, but at least Carty's shortcomings can occasionally be explained by his age and bereavement, and a film that inserts Joy Division lyrics into its dialogue can't all be bad. It's also great to see people enjoying the band being played in a club, a scene in which we fully understand Elvis' struggles with his sexuality for the first time. Sadly though, the story isn't anywhere near as compelling as its soundtrack, and suffers badly from characters that aren't as complicated as Holden thinks they are. As far as football hooliganism on screen goes, you're better off laughing through the surprisingly decent Football Factory, or even Phil Davis' I.D (1995), a film that at least has ambitions of exploring addiction (to hooliganism, alcohol and drugs) as cops go undercover in a football firm. It's ultimately far from a great film, but has the strength of its own convictions, something that Awaydays simply doesn't achieve. 4.2/10