This is England: Review

Usually films dealing explicitly with themes of coming of age are tired, clichéd experiences that endlessly re-hash the conventions of the genre over and over. This is why This is England, the newest feature by Shane Meadows is as refreshing as it is, a moving exploration of the effects hatred and racism can have on a young boy. Featuring spectacular performances throughout, this is the feature where Meadows fully graduates into the upper echelon of modern British filmmakers. His steady direction and highly intelligent script is the base of a devastatingly effective drama that works on every level it intends.

The film tells the story of Shaun, played by Thomas Turgoose, a small boy growing up in small town England in the mid 1980’s. His father has been killed in the Falklands War and while his mother (played by Jo Hartley) is a capable, loving woman, Shaun is a lonely outsider at school, frequently being picked on by his classmates. However, as he’s walking home one day, he meets Woody (Joseph Gilgun) and his band of friends, all skinheads, who take Shaun under his wing. After a few days of acceptance and harmless fun, Woody introduces our protagonist to Combo, who has been recently paroled. However, where Woody and friends are a relatively harmless, accepting group, Combo is a firm believer in the National Front, an ultra right wing political group, and his talks drive a wedge in the group.

Led by Turgoose is his debut performance, the cast shines from top to bottom, giving Meadows’ characters a lived in realism. Never once do they seem like caricatures of people; every performer imbues their already richly drawn characters with humanity and grace. Even the more dislikeable characters, such as Stephen Graham’s Combo are oddly vulnerable at times despite his violent, hateful exterior. The actual story is not a tremendously complicated narrative, but the characters are so thoroughly thought out that they jump off the screen and as a result, the basic storyline is greatly aided. Turgoose is tremendous and deserves to be recognized for his spectacular performance. Shaun is one of the more memorable child characters in recent times; without him, the film would suffer.

Now before everyone gets up in arms about the idea of likable skinhead characters, one has to realize that initially, the skinhead culture was not based on the same ideals that tend to characterize it today. For most Americans, skinhead is somewhat of an interchangeable term with Neo-Nazism. However, at their start, skinheads were an offshoot of the Mods and as a result, tended to be based around music culture. It really wasn’t until the National Front appropriated the culture that it became what many people associate it with now.

This is England is vibrantly alive, featuring a spectacular soundtrack and cinematography. Both the audio and visual aspects of the film allow it to jump off the screen. In fact, some of the film’s best scenes are really extended musical sequences, brilliantly shot and executed. These sequences are funny, sad but most of all involving. They welcome the viewer farther into the story and the characters lives, painting a better picture of what life was like for these people. Unlike so many other musical sequences today, which feel tired and bloated, Meadows utilizes these sequence’s screen time to maximum effect.

If Dead Man’s Shoes, the predecessor to This is England in Meadows’ filmography, was a startling show of talent, This is England is a magnificent realization of all those talents, a film where everything comes together at the right time. This is a film that defiantly British but can speak to people of all countries. It is a brutal indictment of hatred and racism and the detrimental effects those can have, not only on those who possess them but for those who surround those people as well. This is England is a film that deserves, nay, demands to be seen. It is an important and vital work, a feather that will stand for a long time as one of, hopefully, many in the cap of Shane Meadows.


*****