I.D. [DVD] [1995]

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Product Description ------------------- Crime drama directed by Philip Davis. man John (Reece Dinsdale) is assigned with his superior, Trevor (Richard Graham), to a secret four-man squad set up to bust a violent football firm. The gang seem to be responsible for much of South London's violent crime, as well as regular crowd trouble at Shadwell Town football club. Not long after becoming fully integrated into the group, John gives Trevor cause for concern as his darker side is gradually unleashed, drawn in by the buzz of football hooliganism. .co.uk Review ------------- Intense, ferocious and deeply unsettling, I.D. is an excellent examination of Britain's unsavoury contribution to global culture: football hooliganism. Whereas Alan Clarke's The Firm showed the violence that lurked behind a seemingly normal façade, I.D. posits football hooliganism as a feral temptation. Dedicated, ambitious undercover man John (Reece Dinsdale) becomes seduced by the violence of an East London gang, ultimately becoming lost from his regular life with his wife (Clare Skinner). Dinsdale delivers a measured performance that sees him spiral from committed, right-minded man to shaven-headed, Nazi-saluting monster, revelling in the violent impulses he embraces with glee and, alarmingly, becoming a hero amongst those he is infiltrating. Warren Clarke is absolutely monstrous as the leader of the hooligan gang, a paragon of bigoted hatred and the embodiment of John's future. Often unnervingly realistic, director Phil Davis is adept at creating riotous mob scenes that chillingly accentuate the world into which John is drawn. It could be said that I.D.'s premise is too thin, and that hooliganism is not addressed in an effective manner, but it is without doubt a chilling character study of the temptation of violence and the horrific influences that lurk in the heart of society. --Danny Graydon