30/08/07 - It’s not for the faint-hearted
By NICOLA FENN
Crime reporter
Echo

Cast – Roland Mancokian (Rolfe), Terry Stone (Tucker), Billy Murray (Steele) and Craig Fairbrass (Tate)

AS British gangster films go, Rise of the Footsoldier makes cult film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels look like a Disney movie.

The opening shots show three bodies lying on morgue tables, in all their eye-popping, blood-spattered gore. It sets the tone for a grisly, violent and blood-drenched film in which director Julian Gilbey doesn’t hold back on telling the infamous Essex Boys story in an extremely graphic way.

It’s based on the life of Carlton Leech (Ricci Harnett), as he rises from the ranks of 16-year-old football hooligan to become one of the most feared criminals of the early Nineties. Together with Tony Tucker (Terry Stone), Leech set up the Firm, a notorious gang who ran the streets of Essex and London.

To push home the reality of the triple murder, Gilbey uses footage shown on national TV news of the murder scene, the Range Rover being carried away and interviews with investigating Essex Police officers. It is interesting to watch the interpretation of what is arguably Essex’s most notorious crime and England’s most violent gang-related murder. But be warned – you need a strong stomach to watch it.