This is England
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Movie Reviews of This is England
Movie Review: an unforgettable look at violent youth
Summary: 5 Stars
Superbly written and directed by Shane Meadows, "This is England" provides us with an unflinchingly realistic and grimly depressing look at the skinhead subculture of early 1980's Britain.
Shaun is a twelve-year-old lad who has recently lost his father in the Falklands War. Even though Shaun has learned to give as good as he gets when the schoolyard and neighborhood bullies go to whaling on him (both verbally and physically), that still doesn't keep him from being ridiculed and harassed on an almost daily basis by kids who are bigger than he is - until, that is, he hooks up with a gang of social delinquents who take him under their wing, drastically altering his appearance and bringing him along on orgies of destruction as part of his initiation.
Although "This is England" is harrowing in what it says about a generation caught in an out-of-control spiral of purposelessness, rebelliousness and violence, there is a surprising amount of humor and tenderness in the film as well. Shaun may be mouthy and obnoxious a good part of the time, but he also possesses a whip-smart sense of humor, a strong instinct for self-preservation, and a wise-beyond-his-years perceptiveness about how life on the street actually works. In a similar way, even the punks who befriend and corrupt the boy are portrayed as complex, three-dimensional individuals, their occasional displays of charm and decency going a long way towards explaining just why it is that Shaun and even his own well-meaning mother are so easily taken in by them.
The real trouble begins when Combo, a neighborhood troublemaker and now radical "England for the English" nationalist, is released from prison and proceeds to infect the group with the idea of "taking back" the country from the hordes of dark-skinned "Pakis" who have increasingly made their home there. A gifted rabble rouser, Combo not only exploits working class dissatisfaction with the economy and the war, but appeals to out-and-out racism and xenophobia to win the men over to his side. This proves too much for a number of the gang's members - including Woody, the nominal leader - who quietly bow out of the scene, but Shaun, still feeling sorely the absense of his father, continues to find a home with the group.
The thing that is most striking about "This is England" is how remarkably fleshed-out and true-to-life the characters are, a result stemming as much from Meadows' thoughtful and intelligent screenplay as from the brilliant performances by Thomas Turgoose and Stephen Graham as Shaun and Combo, respectively. Turgoose has an astonishing ability to be both childlike and strangely adult at one and the same time, while Graham keeps us on edge throughout with his volatile combination of charm, charisma, love of violence and hair-triggered temper. And there are numerous other first-rate performances in the film as well.
Even though the story, in this case, is played out against the backdrop of bellicose speeches by Margaret Thatcher and file footage of the Falklands War, the themes the movie deals with - the irrational fear of "the other," the radicalization of disaffected youth, the seductive nature of the mob mentality - are sadly universal and relevant to all times and societies. It is an eye-opening, cautionary tale about where modern society may be heading if we don't learn to see beneath the superficial differences of skin and culture and find the common ground of humanity that unites us all. It's an old message but one that is delivered with unforgettable force in this film.
Movie Review: Shane Meadows Very Best Film To Date
Summary: 5 Stars
This Is England is most definitely one of the very best British films of the twenty-first century and ranking as Shane Meadows most outstanding to date. Meadows draws on his own personal experiences as a skin head during the early 1980's. This Is England is set during the summer months of 1983 at the time of "Thatcher's Britain" and indeed the era of the skinheads, punk, racism and facism.
Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) is a lonely 11 year old kid growing up on a rough council estate in the North Of England. He is grieving the sudden loss of his father after he was killed in the horrific Falklands War. Encountering incessant bullying at school, Shaun meets a gang of friendly, multi-racial, dope-smoking skin heads, headed by Woody (Joseph Gilgunn) who immediately are drawn to his sadness and confusion and subsequently take the boy under their wing. However when one of the gang's old members Combo, (Stephen Graham) a vicious, racist thug and bully, is released from prison, Shaun is manipulated by Combo's way of thinking and racist attitude and turns into a thug himself, convinced he would be making his late Dad proud. After Combo brutally beats up Shaun's friend Milky (Andrew Shim) and exposes his own deep vulnreability and unbalanced mental state, Shaun comes back down to earth (and his senses), realising the lifestyle he'd been leading was not really for him, nor would it have made his Dad proud.
Though the first half of This Is England is touchingly funny, drawing on the allure and fun of being in a gang, the second half soon makes way for a much darker, raw and gritty nature, with many violent episodes and highlighting the brutally stark racism that existed at the time (and still does unfortunately!). Shane Meadows shrewdly evokes the total working-class despair of "Thatcher's Britain", capturing the era impeccably well and impressively authentic in detail.
Like every other of Shane Meadows absolutely superb films, the acting and dialogue is astutely naturalistic, drawing you in from the opening scene. Most outstanding of all is the immensely talented youngster Thomas Turgoose who's almost stark performance never once shrinks from being anything but utterly powerful and beleavable. Indeed the cast are all thoroughly excellent that includes another notably powerful turn from the ever-brilliant Stephen Graham as Combo; Joseph Gilgunn as the loveable, kindly rogue Woody who is the leader of the gang that Shaun first joins and who also refuses to be brainwashed by Combo's unhinged way of thinking and racial hatred; Jo Hartley as Shaun's mum Cynth who upon meeting the gang headed by Woody becomes charmed by them herself it seems, after having had serious reservations when first seeing her young son with a shaved head; Andrew Shim as the friendly Milky; Vicky McClure as the more sensible, level-headed Lol and Rosamund Hanson as the eccentric but likeable Smell.
Extra features on this DVD edition is endearing audio commentary to the film by writer and director Shane Meadows, producer Mark Herbert and the greatly talented young lead actor Thomas Turgoose.
Truly an out and out masterpiece, This Is England is an often funny, often shocking and often deeply moving portrait of a moment in British cultural history.
Ian Phillips
April 2010
Movie Review: Powerful stuff
Summary: 5 Stars
This Is England, the fifth feature film by Shane Meadows (whose debut feature was the 1998 boxing drama Twentyfour Seven), is set in the summer of 1983 and concerns an 11-year-old boy named Shaun (played by newcomer Thomas Turgoose) whose father has recently been killed in the Falkland Islands war. In the course of the story, the boy grows up mighty fast as he falls in with a couple of gangs.
First, lonely Shaun is befriended by a fun-loving bunch of skinheads led by the affable Woody (Joe Gilgun). Woody and his mates are a likable and fairly harmless lot, and their scenes together are quite entertaining. But the party doesn't last forever: Soon a rift forms in the group when their old friend Combo (Stephen Graham) returns from a stint in prison transformed into a nationalistic neo-Nazi, and Shaun chooses to side with his seething posse.
In the hands of lesser talents, Combo might have been portrayed as a one-dimensional racist monster, and it would be a total mystery as to why Shaun would be drawn to him. But it's a credit to both actor Graham and screenwriter Meadows that there's so much more to the character: Combo is handsome and charismatic, he sympathizes with the fatherless Shaun, and though cursed with a frightening, hair-trigger temper, he also shows vulnerability; furthermore, even if you don't approve of his rants or how he terrorizes the local Pakistani immigrants, at least you can sense the frustration and fear behind his words and deeds. Indeed, the entire cast is uniformly strong; Turgoose, Gilgun, and Graham are the dominant figures here, but the many fine supporting players include Jo Hartley as Shaun's caring mother, Andrew Shim as Woody's Afro-Jamaican pal Milky, and Vicky McClure as Combo's former girlfriend Lol.
I must note that, while TIE is an undeniably personal story for Meadows (it was mostly inspired by incidents from the British writer-director's own childhood), you don't have to be a Brit who grew up in the '80s to appreciate it; for one thing, the notion of the gang-as-surrogate-family is timeless and universal. Also, when Combo rages about unemployment, cheap immigrant labor, a "fake war," and needing to "fight" to take back his country, it hits uncomfortably close to home. (Much as I hate to say it, just replace the references to "Pakis" with "Mexicans," Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with President Bush, and the Falkland Islands with Iraq, and such scenes could almost be taking place here in the US today.)
As Shaun falls further under Combo's influence, what started as a funny and sweet (if gritty) coming-of-age tale becomes as disturbing and powerful as Meadows' previous feature, the 2004 anti-revenge thriller Dead Man's Shoes. When I first caught DMS on DVD earlier this year (my first exposure to Meadows' work), I thought that it was nearly as good as anything by fellow Brit Mike Leigh (whose films I've admired for their realistic, emotionally rich style) and that Meadows was a talent worth keeping an eye on. TIE only further confirms my initial opinions of the guy, and I will be looking forward to any projects he has planned for the future.
Movie Review: Break out your old Sham 69 lps!
Summary: 5 Stars
A hard-hitting, naturalistic "social drama" reminiscent of the work of Ken Loach and British "angry young man" films of the early 60s (with a slight whiff of "A Clockwork Orange") "This is England" is set against the backdrop of the Thatcher era, circa 1983. The story (reported to be loosely auto-biographical, based on the director's Midlands upbringing) centers around a glum, alienated 12 year-old named Shaun (first-time film actor Thomas Turgoose, in an extraordinary performance) who can't seem to fit in with any of the cliques at his school. Shaun presents a real handful to his loving but somewhat exasperated mother (Jo Hartley),a working-class Falklands War widow who does her best to support herself and her son. After a particularly bad day of being bullied about by teachers and schoolmates, happenstance leads Shaun into the midst of a skinhead gang.
Shaun's initial apprehension is quickly washed away when the sympathetic and good-natured gang leader Woody (Joe Gilgun) takes him under his wing and offers him an unconditional entrée into their little club. Shaun's weary working mum is initially not so crazy about his new pals, but after sizing them up decides essentially to leave her son in their care. Some may feel that this development strains credibility, but I think it's a pragmatic decision. Her son has no siblings, no close friends,and is suffering from the loss of his father; perhaps this surrogate family will give him what she cannot provide.
The idyll is soon shattered, however, when the gang's original leader, Combo (Stephen Graham) is released from prison. Combo's return causes a rift that divides the gang; his jailhouse conversion to racist National Front ideals doesn't settle well with Woody and his supporters, and they break off on their own. Shaun decides to stay on after forming an instant bond with the thuggish Combo, who easily parlays the impressionable Shaun's grief over his father into a blame-shifting hatred of immigrants, with tragic results.
The film works successfully on several levels; as a cautionary tale, a history lesson and a riveting drama. As cautionary tale, it demonstrates how easily the neglected and disenfranchised can be recruited and indoctrinated into the politics of hate. As a history lesson, it's a fascinating glimpse at a not-so-long ago era of complex politics and social upheaval in Great Britain. As a riveting drama, it features some very believable and astounding performances, particularly from the aforementioned young Turgoose and Graham, who positively owns the screen with his charismatic intensity. Not to be missed.
Movie Review: Thin Lines and Short Hair
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, i am a skinhead. (i have no need to elaborate on this title. I am too old. and you have a computer. I shouldn't have to explain myself due to others ignorance.) This amazing, energetic, misunderstood sub-culture has little press. The extremes of the culture are fodder for generic sensational stories. (I mean who wants to hear about 50 skins drinking and seeing a band with no violence occurring?).
representation of skins in cinema: Some awful 70's "Skinhead", which was in name only; "Suburbia"; "Meantime", "Made in Britain", accurate, but scary. And the ultimate in ridiculous, "American History X". Despite stunning cinematography from Kaye - phenomenal acting from D'Angelo, Gould and Norton - this script was a glorified After School Special, contingent on a contrived script. Although it does represent the Metzger sub-section, all in all it was silly.
"Made in England" by Shane Meadows (who was an actual skin) is a strong film. It explores the chasm between pride and ism (nationalism, racism, etc). It is set in the tumultuous 1982 of England. It portrays a fatherless (lost in the Falklands conflict)child, a working mother, and the charismatic draw of a single, struggling man.
When i watched this on the big screen in Newport, i was floored. Here is finally a film that can delve into the nuances of a culture without falling into the tempting traps of sensationalism. Here, there is not nazis and anti-racists; not a clear contrast in ideologies. What there is, is blossoming Nationalism in a time of fear and unknown repercussions. This dances on the fine line of how confusing a sense of pride can be and the frightening slope that people slip down. We watch these images through the eyes of a child, and it is easy to see how simple this predicament could be. But naiveté is no excuse. and the will be consequences. Beautifully shot, Superbly acted; kept taut and tense and morose, Meadows skilfully tells a compelling story.
This film had a scary reverberation in a post 9-11 America. And should serve as a warning. Too bad no Oi bands would attach themselves to this, but a fantastic skinhead reggae soundtrack over images of desolation and war is fun. and to see boots, braces, and Ben Shermans on a big screen that is usually filled with pop culture and vapid people, moved me. i love this film. Oi!