Like so many films out there, This is England is another fine lesson in “don’t judge a movie by its promotional material.” The fliers will tell you that this is another ‘rite of passage’ classic, in which a young boy learns that 'violence is the coward’s answer,' while the trailer plays up the film’s isolated moments of heart-wrenching pathos, as if the entire film were focused solely upon the plight of its 12-year-old protagonist, Shaun (played to perfection by newcomer Thomas Tugroose.) In fact, Shaun is but a lens through which the audience is invited to view a far larger and more widespread predicament. From the start, he is a mere pawn in someone else’s toxic game play.
From its opening credits (a collage of authentic news footage), this autobiographical effort leaves no question of context unanswered. This is England is firmly rooted in the midst of Margaret Thatcher’s debilitating regime, during a time rife with hostility, racism, mass unemployment, xenophobia and lingering bitterness about the Falklands controversy. It is in this anxiety-ridden context that we meet Shaun; a scruffy, bullied adolescent struggling to cope with the recent death of his father. On his way home from school one day, the desperate Shaun is rescued by Woody (Joseph Gilgun), a skinhead with good intentions, and thus Shaun finds himself drawn into a world of shaved heads, Ben Sherman shirts, suspenders, Doc Martens, and much older girlfriends (in what is a bizarre but intriguing exploration of pre-pubescent sexuality.) The trouble begins when a much older member of the gang (Stephen Graham) is released from prison, and Shaun, vulnerable and naïve, is ideal prey for his hard edged, overtly racist preaching.
Shaun is the narrative’s catalyst, but in no way is he its central focus. Rather, this film is more of a portrait of the times. It at once conveys the passionate spirit and crushing desperation of the time, (a roughed up version of Degrassi High?), while simultaneously capturing all the period’s complexities; shifting notions of masculinity, the irreconcilable clash between racism and nationalism, and, yes, the complexity of growing up in a country so deflated by its own desperation. There are unnecessarily sappy moments within this film (the overtly emotional musical score is at times at odds with the hard-edged narrative, and some of the nationalist spiels are accompanied by cringe-worthy montages), but, on the whole, this is a deeply moving and highly powerful film. Arguably, this is Shane Meadow’s most mature, and most successful, cinema effort yet.
Rating: 8.0
From its opening credits (a collage of authentic news footage), this autobiographical effort leaves no question of context unanswered. This is England is firmly rooted in the midst of Margaret Thatcher’s debilitating regime, during a time rife with hostility, racism, mass unemployment, xenophobia and lingering bitterness about the Falklands controversy. It is in this anxiety-ridden context that we meet Shaun; a scruffy, bullied adolescent struggling to cope with the recent death of his father. On his way home from school one day, the desperate Shaun is rescued by Woody (Joseph Gilgun), a skinhead with good intentions, and thus Shaun finds himself drawn into a world of shaved heads, Ben Sherman shirts, suspenders, Doc Martens, and much older girlfriends (in what is a bizarre but intriguing exploration of pre-pubescent sexuality.) The trouble begins when a much older member of the gang (Stephen Graham) is released from prison, and Shaun, vulnerable and naïve, is ideal prey for his hard edged, overtly racist preaching.
Shaun is the narrative’s catalyst, but in no way is he its central focus. Rather, this film is more of a portrait of the times. It at once conveys the passionate spirit and crushing desperation of the time, (a roughed up version of Degrassi High?), while simultaneously capturing all the period’s complexities; shifting notions of masculinity, the irreconcilable clash between racism and nationalism, and, yes, the complexity of growing up in a country so deflated by its own desperation. There are unnecessarily sappy moments within this film (the overtly emotional musical score is at times at odds with the hard-edged narrative, and some of the nationalist spiels are accompanied by cringe-worthy montages), but, on the whole, this is a deeply moving and highly powerful film. Arguably, this is Shane Meadow’s most mature, and most successful, cinema effort yet.
Rating: 8.0
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