i.d.

Philip Davis is probably better known as an actor who has played both bit parts and lead roles in film and television (Secrets and lies, In the name of the father, North Square (TV series), Blue ice) but he has also directed several films including “i.d.”, his debut film. Interestingly, the plot for “i.d.” has a close link to that of a film which Philip Davis starred in five years earlier, “The Firm” (dir. Alan Clarke, 1989) where the central theme focused around English soccer violence and soccer gangs. “i.d.” tells the story of a British police detective, John (Reece Dinsdale) who, along with three other officers, is sent undercover to blend in with a group of fanatical soccer fans. Their main goal is to identify the gang leaders (or “generals”) who perpetrate and orchestrate the violence and the reasons, or the driving force, as to why they do it. Soccer hooliganism has become a part of Saturday life in London, but the police suspect there is far more to it than just obsessed hard-drinking fans cutting loose. To discover what really goes on behind the scenes, John starts hanging out with a local league team, Shadwell Town, and its hooligan followers, going to the matches, joining in the rumbles, and doing a lot of hard drinking. It’s not long before John finds himself becoming more and more a part of this life, that he is behaving like the thugs he is trying to set up, and relationships are beginning to take an unexpected turn. Violent and brutal, “i.d” is a realistic portrayal of those involved in soccer hooliganism and of working class England at the time. Cast also includes Richard Graham, Claire Skinner, Sean Pertwee, Saskia Reeves and Warren Clarke.