30 May 2007
This Is England - Shane Meadows’ Greatest?
Posted by Dexter M under: belper; films .
Another trip to the Ritz in Belper last night - this time to see Shane Meadows’ latest This Is England.
It was a full house - clearly Mr. Meadows has a strong following round here - not too surprising considering all of his features so far have been based within 50 miles of the town. Indeed, his take on a revenenge western Dead Man’s Shoes was filmed right up the road in Matlock.
This Is England focuses (in a similar way to Room for Romeo Brass) on a young boy and “loss of innocence”. This time lead character Shane Fields (a young looking 12 year old played by the amazing Thomas Turgoose) is a loner who has just lost his dad in the Falklands War of 1983. Living in a un-named town (some weird juxtaposition of Nottingham and Grimsby!) Shaun is taken in by a friendly gang of skinheads - all older than him.
The film manages to conjure up the feel of the time - Roland Rat, Thatcher in her prime, the tail end of Two Tone/New Wave, the Falklands War, the menace of the National Front and their insidious influence on young unemployed and dis-affected young people. The characters are rendered with the usual care Meadows takes - complex, sympathetic, genuine. There’s moments of real humour (e.g. the gang rampaging through a deserted housing estate dressed in ridiculous costumes). There’s the menace of Combo (Stephen Graham) - who returns from a stint in prison to take over the group and lead them towards the NF and racist thuggery. Central to all of this is the superb portrayal of Shaun - being only 12 and seeking security and a possible father figure. The Soundtrack isspot on too -vintage ska, reggae, two tone and an great cover of The Smiths’ “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” delivered by Clayhill.
It’s a testament to Shane Meadows’ talent that all the elements gel, without excessive violence or sickly brit-flick sentimentality. He shows a complex and even balance picture of the state of skinhead culture inEngland at that time. Not to mention capturing a real essence of Thatchers’ Britain at the time.