As a keen, passionate football fan who arrived on the scene way after the 'golden age' of football hooliganism, this particular genre of film really appeals to me.

Awaydays is totally different to the laddish, almost comedic 'Football Factory' and the attempted honourable, noble portrayal of football hooliganism in 'Green Street' - Awaydays offers a negative, gloomy, dangerous view of a by-gone era, and refreshingly so.

I thought the complicated bromance between the two main characters was acted extremely well, very believable. However, the running time of the film didn't allow for the complexity of their relationship to develop properly.

The two other factors that really bugged me about this film were the fight scenes; a group of teenagers easily turning over gangs of fully grown men, and a fellow member of the gang killing the leader for no real reason - without any repercussions. The two were having a disagreement throughout the film over one of them selling heroin to other members of the 'firm', but the sub-plot was far too thin to make such a drastic action relevant.

Overall, an interesting film offering a different insight into the 'casual' culture. The mood may be more in touch with the reality of that particular lifestyle, but a few major drawbacks prevent Awaydays from pulling off its intended significance and impact.

'Awaydays' is not your typical football hooligan film, the sub-culture of football hooliganism in the early years of Thatcher's Britain is there to set the brooding scene, however it is evocative the homo-erotic relationship between Carty (Nicky Bell) and the eccentric Elvis (Liam Boyle) that takes centre stage and gives Paul Holden's film slightly more depth than simply being a film about men taking out their boredom in the form of fighting on a Saturday afternoon.

Paul Carty is a suburban male who is drawn towards the 'The Pack', a group of thugs who take their excitement from fighting on a Saturday afternoon all across Britain, through these encounters he grows closer and closer with a bohemian working-class character in Elvis. Elvis just wants to move away to Berlin and start a new life around people who understand him, while Carty just wants to find direction in his life after his mother's death. As they connect through their mutual love of Bowie, the Liverpudlian music scene and Art, they develop an increasingly complex relationship that is bordering on the homoerotic. It is this intricate bond between these two seemingly different, yet very similar and flawed 'men' that keeps the film ticking over. If you removed this key component then the film falls a little flat, with Kevin Sampson's script missing out many explanations to key elements such as why Carty is drawn towards the allure of the 'The Pack' in the first place and the death of John. With that said, it is hauntingly shot with a soundtrack that compliments Pat Holden's sombre directorial style, and even though at times he has a tendency to delve too much into the LSD-induced hallucinogenic state's of both boys minds, he does it with little expense to the viewer.

If you want a film that doesn't simply look at the male phenomenon of having a good scrap on a Saturday afternoon because we're all bored and working class zombies in a capitalist machine ('Football Factory', 'Green Street') then 'Awaydays' is for you, as it offers just that bit more and is akin to something of a 'football-love-story'.

This is has got to be one of the most bizarre movies I've seen in a very long time . It has the gloomy , gritty , realist kitchen sink drama you've seen a million times from every Ken Loach film . Somewhat conscious of this Pat Holden then introduces a contemporary soundtrack tothe film , a soundtrack that seems to go on and on . According to the wikipedia a grand total of 28 tracks are used throughout the running time . You can't get enough of doom laden nihilistic songs , tunes to slash your wrists to ? Then you'll probably enjoy AWAYDAYS . Oh and you're also a latent homosexual who can't catch enough homo erotic glances from male characters in a movie ? In that case you might just believe this is a gay , kitchen sink , pop video equivalent of GONE WITH THE WIND

These aren't necessarily criticisms and AWAYDAYS would go down very well with film students wanting to discuss kitchen sink British drama or gay cinema or wider existentialist themes . Certainly the look and feel of the movie resembles that of many classic PLAY FOR TODAY dramas but the problem is there seems to be three different type of films trying to escape

Certainly the best aspect of the film is its sense of time and place . Unlike Nick Love's remake of THE FIRM you really do believe the story is taking place in its chronological setting , so much so that Holden gives the impression that he owns a Tardis . The hairstyles and fashion and whole feel of the movie screams that it's 1979 Merseyside . However this is the only thing Holden manages to capture well and convey to the audience

It's interesting how extreme some of the reviews on this page are and after watching AWAYDAYS you'll take on board both the praise and criticism . Both sides are right in their arguments and I'm sticking by my one line summary at the top of this review