The Firm (1989 film)
The Firm is a 1989 British made-for-television drama film directed by Alan Clarke and written by Al Hunter Ashton for the BBC.Conversely, Bexy's father shows acceptance of his son's lifestyle, happily taking a group photograph of the 'tooled up' gang and boasting of similar activities in his own era.The hooligans from three different firms, who were fighting each other not long ago, agree that Bex was a visionary who brought them together, giving him legendary status, and that his death will not make them change their behaviour, as they vow to continue."[citation needed] In keeping with earlier films like Scum and Made in Britain, The Firm focuses primarily on characters who can be seen as lacking in redemptive qualities and are self-destructive.As Oldman would later comment in 1998 "Alan[...] was a great one for discovering people"[citation needed] and The Firm features a number of actors whose profiles would become significantly more raised in the 1990s including Steve McFadden (later to play Phil Mitchell in EastEnders), Charles Lawson (later Jim MacDonald in Coronation Street) and Steve Sweeney (later Plank in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels).[6] Vice critic Harry Sword wrote that "The Firm remains the definitive celluloid document on football hooliganism: a panoramic masterpiece that captured a world of vicious violence and material aspiration".[9] Josh Winning of Total Film observed its "unflinching depictions of violence" along with Clarke's "layered, fearless approach", and named Oldman's "stunning" performance as the best of his career.[5] Matthew Thrift of the British Film Institute in 2018 wrote that Bissell "remains probably Gary Oldman's greatest screen performance".