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Friday Movies: This is England

Friday, January 4, 2008

This is England

Written & Directed by:
Shane Meadows
2007, UK

Runtime: 101 minutes












Based on director Shane Meadows' own life, This Is England is a coming-of-age film set in 1983 England. After getting into a fight in school, Shaun, a 12 year old who lost his father to the Falklands War, meets a group of skinheads and becomes a part of the gang. Soon after he shaves his head, gets some Doc Martens, a Ben Sherman shirt, suspenders, starts listening to The Specials, and embodies the rebellious British youth of the eighties. Things take a turn for the serious when the gang's leader Woody, gets a surprise visit from old friend Combo, played by the amazing Stephen Graham (Tommy "Who took the jam out of your donut?" from Snatch), has just been released from prison and tries to get the gang to join the National Front. The rest of the film follows Shaun as he tries to figure his life out, finding love and a father figure on the way, as well as what it means to be British.

This film really captures the eighties, especially the British skinhead scene, perfectly. The fashion, the music, and the characters are all very genuine and really make the film seem like it could have been made in 1983 (minus the bad camerawork of the 80's). The story is well-written and shares a similar plot with another film dealing with youth and racism, American History X, but the two films are ultimately different. What makes me like this movie so much is that it really captures the attitude of British youth not just in the eighties but in general. Everything from the Madonna/Cyndi Lauper looking Smell, the cool Jamaican Milky, the leader punk with a heart of gold Woody, and of course the lead Shaun, played by newcomer Thomas Turgoose, are all genuine British characters. Then there is also the character of Combo, much like Ed Norton in American History X, Stephen Graham really captures the insanity and instability of a nationalist with a troubled childhood.

This film also does very well one of the elements in film that are a bit overused (cough, Wes Anderson) but oh so awesome when done well: the montage. The film starts off with Toots & The Maytals' "54-46 Was My Number" with images of 80's television showing cartoons, TV shows, war protests, the wedding of Princess Di and Prince Charles, footage of the Falklands War, and of course, skinheads. Besides this, there is also another great montage in the film that I really liked. After Shaun gets his new skinhead makeover they play another Toots & Maytals jam, a cover of "Louie Louie" then shows the gang play some football, go swimming, throw rocks, goof around, step on puddles, and walk like badasses in slow motion. Now there's another thing that's a bit played out too (Wes Anderson, again, sorry), but sometimes you can not go wrong with the slow-mo shot of people walking down a street looking bad ass. A Clockwork Orange did it right, the Beastie Boys "Sabotage" video, Reservoir Dogs, and now This is England. Anyways, montages like those really add a good sense of style in this film not just for aesthetics, but in doing so, provide a simple yet amazing job of capturing England in the eighties.

Here's how you do montage:


Overall, this is a great stylish film with a superb soundtrack with top notch acting featuring a phenomenal Gary Oldman caliber performance from Stephen Graham.




Like Trainspotting before it, this film should be seen by anyone remotely interested in British culture and shows what true England is all about, not the Bourgeois posh tea and crumpets England Americans often stereotype.


Story: 7
Cinematography: 8
Cast: 8.5
Soundtrack: 9

Mark's overall rating: 8.5 / 10


Minor complaint: WTF this movie has to have the most production companies I have ever seen. There is seriously like 7 companies they show before the movie even starts. And it's not just like flashing their name, they each have their own little motion graphics animated logos.

That said, this movie is definitely worth having to sit through all those though.

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