Cass (18)

Aug 4 2008 By Roz Laws

***

THIS testosterone-fuelled film, full of bad language, is based on the true story of Cass Pennant (Nonso Anozie), a 1980s football hooligan who was sentenced to four years in prison.

Adopted by an elderly white woman and her husband (Linda Bassett and Peter Wight), he grew up surrounded by racism and unaware of his heritage.

“The only culture I know is West Ham,” he says, finding acceptance on the terraces with the notorious Inter City Firm of hooligans after joining in a brawl in Wolverhampton.

It’s fairly well-made with some amusing moments and touching scenes with his parents, but it treads very familiar ground and features several actors, like Tamer Hassan and Leo Gregory, we’ve seen before in this type of film. The acting is also mixed, though Anozie is a name to look out for.