Cass

2008

1 hr. 48 min.

Biography

Crime

Drama

List

53%

15 Reviews

Tomatometer

63%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In a true story, an adopted Jamaican baby raised in a white area becomes one of the most-respected and most-feared men in Britain.

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Cass is based on the true story of the life of Cass Pennant, adapted from his book. The film tells of how he was adopted by an elderly white couple in 1958 and brought up in Slade Green, an all-white area of London. Cass is forced to endure racist bullying on a daily basis from local children, who also ridicule his feminine-sounding name, "Carol", a name given to him at birth. Cass finds through violence the respect he never had and becomes addicted to the buzz of fighting. Cass leads the Inter City Firm to victories against large hooligan firms, such as Leeds in 1980, but becomes frustrated with the lack of publicity the ICF are receiving. So he creates cards with the infamous slogan, "Congratulations, you have just met the famous ICF", and gives a TV interview, increasing the firm's notoriety for humiliation, their speciality. However, the government under Margaret Thatcher begins to come down hard on hooliganism, and after an organised attack on a group of Newcastle United supporters, Cass is imprisoned for four years... This biopic about the football hooligan Cass Pennant suffers from a wobbly dramaturgy and wobbly acting. There is of course a historical value in this film, but it´s hardly amongst the better football hooligan films outthere.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Worth a watch if your interested in this genre.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not bad, not great either. More of a character piece than hooligans focused.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

Baird's debut flick is a lot better than all the usual wank hooligan flicks. Great soundtrack, especially the use of The Saints - This Perfect Day. Anozie is solid in the lead, Peter Wight adds a touch of class and Paul Kaye is the balls.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of the worst films I've ever seen. Desperate. "I have your favorite on for dinner Cass. West Ham and chips" Seriously, an awful pic. Avoid at all costs.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

ICF, lalalala Not as violent as the Carlton Leach films but totally made in an old school style. Even though it was centred around the time of the 'casuals' (like The Firm) it was more a story of a 'black' hooligan than of the terraces

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Jon S. Baird

Director

Nonso Anozie

Cass

Natalie Press

Elaine

Leo Gregory

Freeman

Gavin Brocker

Prentice

Tamer Hassan

Ray

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Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

There isn't, in fact, a single off-key performance in what is otherwise an ordinary film.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 1, 2008

Full Review

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

It never fully convinces you that he deserves a movie.

Aug 1, 2008

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

It is a bit better than many recent lipsmacking movies on similar subjects... but there's still the same self-serving, self-sentimentalising macho nonsense.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 1, 2008

Full Review

Kaleem Aftab

The List

Some dodgy dialogue and poor characterisation aside, writer/director Jon S Baird performs a blinder of a debut game.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 4, 2018

Full Review

Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

The film's repetitive structure never quite resolves into something we can properly engage with, especially when a somewhat heavy-handed message rears its head.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 1, 2008

Full Review

Matthew Turner

ViewLondon

This is an engaging, well made and sharply written British drama that is definitely worth seeing. Great soundtrack too.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 1, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

In a true story, an adopted Jamaican baby raised in a white area becomes one of the most-respected and most-feared men in Britain.

Director: Jon S. Baird
Executive Producer: Jon S. Baird, Will Clarke, Adam Kulick, Pierre Weisbein
Screenwriter: Jon S. Baird
Production Co: Logie Pictures, Cass Films
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 28, 2020

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