Reviews of This Is England
Displaying all 3 reviews
milkandhoney
13Jun10
The first thing that struck me about This is England was the fantastic 16mm cinematography. Every shot of greying pebble-dash spliced with soundbites of Maggie Thatcher droning on about the Falklands, or of the apron-clad white and Asian women running up the road to start work at the factory, powerfully evokes the bleakness, desperation, disillusion and struggle of this working-class midlands community.
I really love all the performances in this film but Stephen Graham especially stands out. You’re never quite sure when Combo is going to lash out in a frenzy of violence and racial abuse and as a result every scene he’s in is fraught with almost unbearable tension. He’s truly one of the scariest and most hateful characters I’ve seen in a film but his confusion and loneliness also make him so pitiable and so sad – a really difficult mix of emotions to inspire in a viewer. The exploitation of young, angry and frustrated working-class men by the far right is sadly something that has always dogged British culture, most recently with the rise of the BNP. But the popularity of the National Front in the 1980s is unique given the high numbers of ‘original skinheads’ who u-turned against their own racially liberated scene and embraced hardline nationalist politics. This extraordinary shift is ultimately what makes Combo such an interesting character.
Although some people have criticised it, I also loved the ending. I think it was perfect to have Sean throw the English flag into the sea in the final scene; it’s almost symbolic of a kind of baptism for him as he makes a new start, a little older, a little wiser. The simple and stark extreme close-up shot of his face just before the credits roll is a reminder of the innocence and possibilities of youth. A truly disturbing and moving film.
- Currently 5.0/5 Stars.
definedivine
28Aug09
I wanted to give this movie a 4,5 but you cant put half’s and if i’m honest i don’t mind giving it a pure five because it really brought out mixed emotions through all of the film. I felt anger because of their stupidity i felt sorry for the kid, i felt happy seeing guys that had some smartness in their heads i felt sad with the boy… it really brings out al lot and i miss this in lots of films. And in a long long time i got to see one of my favorite English actors Frank Harper, who just has a minor role but i just love this guys performances.
Really nice piece of work!
- Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
asuraf
21Dec08
Directed by Shane Meadows from auto-biographical memories of his childhood, this bleakly realistic portrait of a young boy taken in by the skinhead subculture of the early Thatcher era, is a difficult and politically charged examination of England at a time when young men and women had little to idolize except punk rock and anarchy. First timer Thomas Turgoose plays Shaun, a lonely adolescent boy whose father has recently died in the Falkland’s, so desperate for an emotional contact, he takes up with the ska-influenced older skinheads of his town, only to become disillusioned when the non-racist group splits towards the neo-nazi’s with the release of a former member from prison. Meadows uses poor, rural sections of Nottingham for a gritty, realistic background, and the naturalistic performances of the relatively unknown cast, especially Turgoose and Stephen Graham as the nazi influenced new leader of the group, make this unsettling depiction of a specific subculture in a troubled time an especially hard hitting social critique.
- Currently 3.0/5 Stars.