On the surface of it, Danny Dyer’s new film, Marching Powder, could be seen as just another in the line of football-violence themed movies such as Green Street, The Football Factory and Rise of the Footsoldier.
But what Nick Love as director does is pull off something that, when considered in a deeper context, is actually quite a revelation.
Danny Dyer plays Jack, a middle-aged drug-addicted football hooligan, who is given six weeks to mend his ways and, in turn, save his marriage. What follows is Jack’s numerous failed attempts to toe the line – sometimes due to influences from his friends – as he strives to save family life against the adrenaline rush of his habitual descent into violence alongside drugs and alcohol, in a desperate effort to avoid being jailed.
Marching Powder is not for the faint of heart. It’s violent in parts – though this seems restrained compared to other movies of this ilk (possibly deliberate so as to not overshadow the wider context of the film’s numerous points) – and coarse. Be prepared for significant and repeated strong language. However…
It’s utterly refreshing to see something so unabashedly non-PC, non-woke, using language that we are repeatedly told is “not appropriate” these days. One scene in particular highlights the ludicrousness of worrying about what someone is saying, rather than attending to the emergency at hand. The film also presents modern-day problems like impoliteness and assumptions in respect of race and education – primarily from Generation Z – as something that grates upon the forty-five-plus demographics who were bought up in a world where saying “please” and “thankyou” were norms.
At times it’s laugh-out-loud funny and the performances, particularly from Stephanie Leonidas as Jack’s long-suffering wife, and Arty Dyer, Danny’s real-life son, who plays his son JJ, are particularly outstanding.
Certificate 18. Running Time: 96 Minutes.
David E. Gates 