A BRWC Review: Kicking Off

22nd April 2016

Robert Faquhar’s and Matt Wilde combine to bring us Kicking Off taking us on a journey of obsession as we follow the efforts of two obsessive football fans deal with disappointment in a unique and…ever so slightly, criminal manor as they see fit to kidnap the referee who’s decisions forced their beloved team to suffer humiliating relegation.

As star Alistair Petrie (Anthony Greaves) rightly stated in 2015; Kicking Off is not a football hooligan film. Far from the stereotypical trend of films like Green Street (yet, thoroughly enjoyable) and Football Factory (less enjoyable), Kicking Off is a more about passion, friendship and how far natural and deep set allegiances can go when pushed to their limit.

Winner of Best British Feature at Raindance, Kicking Off is unique in the world of football storytelling in that it’s characters are forced to bear a plethora of emotions rather than just the one. Even more so, this film is far from the usual extremes of sports films, without either a rising natural talent or simplistic violence, Warren Brown (Wigsy) and Greg McHugh (Cliff) are able, through a well-written and thoughtful script, to produce complex characters with complex motivations (though they often can be misconstrued as simple).

Its style is interesting and exciting, with all the tricks thrown in from freeze frames, jump cuts and flashbacks. Although the continual breaking of the forth wall with background story-telling does get tiresome as you progress, I felt that as a whole package it worked. It matched well with the tone of the script and the tone of the presentation, which was tongue in cheek throughout. Well directed and incredibly well edited, albeit only a small cast, Kicking Off is a fun and interesting film. Not 100% sure if it’s Raindance quality, and it’s sure to split opinion, but ultimately Kicking Off is worth a go if you like good old British comedy.

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