Hooligans - 2005

Let me say it: what a shit finale. I mean, good for one character, in a way, but bad for the rest. I explain. Matt (Elijah Wood) is kicked out of Harvard because they found cocaine among his things, hidden there by his rich roommate Van Holden. He goes to London to visit his sister Shannon (Claire Forlani). She's married to Steve (Marc Warren) and has a little son. Steve's brother Pete (Charlie Hunnan) introduces Matt to his group of Hooligans. Matt knows nothing about football, but he likes being part of a group, having lots of 'brothers', protecting each other, feeling strong. When it comes to it, football has no part in it at all. It's the feeling of being part of a strong group that he likes. Matt starts spending all his time with them, drinking and fighting. Time ago Steve was part of the same group, he was "the major", but stopped after a kid got killed, then he met Shannon and promised her never to fight again.
A member of the group, Bover or Bower or something like that, never liked Matt because he was American and because he was new. When he learns that Matt studied journalism at Harvard he goes crazy, believing Matt to be an undercover journalist, there to spy on them.
Steve tried to warn Matt, and Pete sides with them, so Bover goes to the enemy group telling them about Matt and also that Steve is in the pub. Among them is the shit father of the poor kid that died, and he tries to kill Steve. Of course he prefers to blame him for the son's dead instead of admitting that no good father should ever bring his kid to a battle.
Pete and Matt rush to the hospital, to save him. He'll live, but Shannon wants to leave him, to go back to America.
Pete wants vengeance, and arranges a big battle between the two gangs. Matt joins his group, unwilling to let them go without him. Worried for her brother, Shannon goes looking for him. The 'enemy', I can't remember his name, breaks Pete's leg, but when Pete sees Shannon he's worried sick the bastard might kill her too, and her baby, so he provokes him to give Matt time to drive her away. Pete gets beaten to death and Matt and Shannon go back to America. It looks like Steve is left at the hospital without his wife, his son, his brother. Yes, he used to fight and that's bad, but so did Matt, until Pete died and his sister risked it too. Why Steve is the only one who deserves to be left alone, when he didn't fight, he only tried to save his wife's brother? It doesn't seem fair, specially because there is no word about him joining her to America. She left him, just like that.
The end shows a Matt more confident now, who tapes Van Holden's confession to be accepted back at Harvard. Good, he's getting his life back on track, that's good. Pity that he needed a death to get there.