Unlike the several other football hooligan movies of recent years, Awaydays’ writer and director — Kevin Sampson and Pat Holden — clearly want to tell a proper story, rather than just piece together a series of fights. That story, however, is still not up to snuff. Set in 1979, the film tells of a Liverpudlian teenager, Paul (Nicky Bell), who, despite being a Bowie fan with an art-school past, longs to be accepted by the local yobs — against the wishes of a bohemian friend (Liam Boyle). Bell’s wholehearted performance and the film’s convincingly scuzzy atmosphere don’t make up for the big hole in the script: it never gets near to explaining why Paul wants to hang out with those thugs.

18, 105 mins

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