Film Releases: ‘Cass’ – The True Story of an East End Thug

Boris Johnson has pledged to rid the capital of the “scourge” of knife crime, as London’s stabbing trend spirals out of control. The fatal knifing of a man in May, in broad daylight, in one of London’s busiest streets, has further fuelled public fear. Needless to say McDonalds – the scene of that specific incident – is never a particularly wise dinner destination in my opinion – health-wise or otherwise – but trans fats and coronary heart disease aside,  is it now unsafe to grab a Happy Meal on Oxford Street, without being sliced like a slab of burger meat?

It doesn’t seem like a particularly appropriate time to release a film that glamorises street violence in today’s current climate. Especially one that is set in our already scarred and sensitive capital, and sees a power-hungry football thug rise the ranks of a hooligan gang to become its influential leader.

But a controversial movie located in London is being released today despite the hype about our capital’s critical crime rate. Cass tells the true story of an orphaned Jamaican baby who grew up in the 1950s, before political correctness, when he was forced to endure racist bullying until years of pent-up anger saw him seek the respect he never had as the ringleader of West Ham’s infamous Inter City Firm.

Cass Pennant (a charismatic Nonso Anozie) grew up on the harsh streets of East London in the ‘70s; an adopted black child of white parents who was an outcast because of his race. The opening credits roll out in a storm of expletives as Cass is shot outside a New Cross nightclub at point blank range. We then backtrack to his childhood as a boyhood fan of West Ham United, through the so-called ‘heydays’ of football-related thuggery in the ‘70s and ‘80s, during his prison term for violence and ongoing feuds with an Arsenal footie gang.

The true story of Cass’s biographical drama is strong enough to triumph over the rather slow pacing and flimsy acting. On the night of this particular preview screening the theatre is filled with expectant East Enders who look like they’ve stepped straight off the film set. Onscreen you can star spot cameos from boxing legend Frank Bruno, West Ham ex-footballer Frank MacAvennie and World Champion East End boxer Charlie Magri.

I love watching films about London, and Cass depicts the Thatcher years so accurately it’s almost nostalgic. Baird has done a meticulous job of recounting the ‘80s with the now comic musical score and dated fashions. It’s a low budget endeavor, but the moving, underlying themes make for quite an extraordinary story.

At the premiere of the film in London’s Leicester Square star Anozie said that he thinks the film has a positive message about our city’s gun and knife crime: “I think the message for me is, in light of all the gun crime and violence that is out there, I think it will tell people however dark the situation you’re in you can make a choice that is positive.”

Cass (18) is released in London and key cities on Friday 1st August.

Starring: Nonso Anozie, Nathalie Press, Leo Gregory, Gavin Brocker, Linda Bassett, Peter Wight

Written & Directed by: Jon S. Baird

Also released today…

Man on Wire: Vertigo-Inducing Doco

Philippe Petit is plain bonkers. You’d have to be a few watts short of a light bulb to get a kick out of scaling the (late) World Trade Centre and walking on a tight rope between the two towers at 1350 feet – sans safety harness. Daredevil Frenchman Petit did such a thing in 1974, after planning it for six years and focussing every ounce of his being on achieving this lifelong dream. But why?

It all started when he was a 17-year-old street juggler in Paris. Racked with toothache a young Petit, while sitting in a dentist’s office, saw an advertisement in a magazine for the yet unbuilt Twin Towers in New York. From that day onward he was a Parisian possessed, and dedicated his life thereon in to conquering the world’s tallest buildings.

Man on Wire is a captivating, vertigo-inducing doco that looks at the risks and rewards of such a feat. Petit and his small team, like a band of professional bank robbers, meticulously plotted every detail of the virtually insurmountable task, figuring out how much equipment was required, how to smuggle this equipment onto the roof of the towers, and how to counteract the forces of physics at such extreme heights.

The film, through comic re-enactments, interviews and archived footage, cleverly chronicles the struggles that Petit and co. faced. It’s remarkable stuff indeed, if at times a little self-indulgent. Thankfully, Petit and his motley crew had a string of luck on their side, and so their achievement, in retrospect, was extraordinary. But what could have happened is barely worth thinking about: What if an unexpected gust of wind had determined their fate and hundreds of witnesses below had to live with the vision of a man’s guts spread across the pavement for the rest of their lives? Would the aspiration of one man have been worth it all then?

Man on Wire (12A) is released in the UK on Friday 1st August.

Starring:  Philippe Petit, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix, Jim Moore, Mark Lewis, Jean-Francois Heckel, Barry Greenhouse

Directed by:  James Marsh

Catch it at the following London cinemas:

Gate Cinema, 87 Notting Hill Gate, W11 3JZ
Greenwich Picturehouse, 180 Greenwich High Street, SE10 8NN
ICA Cinema, Nash House, SW1Y 5AH
Ritzy Cinema, Brixton Oval, Coldharbour Lane, SW2 1JG
Screen on the Green, 83 Upper Street, N1 0NU