This Is England

Plot synopsis:
In 1983, 12-year-old Shaun gets into a fight at school with a boy named Harvey after he makes an offensive joke about his father, who died in the Falklands War. On his way home, Shaun comes across a gang of young skinheads led by Woody, who feels sympathy for Shaun and invites him to join the group. They accept Shaun as a member, and he finds a big brother in Woody, while developing a romance with Michelle, also known as Smell, an older girl who dresses in a new wave style.
Combo, an older skinhead, returns to the group after a prison sentence, accompanied by a knife-wielding moustachioed man called Banjo. A charismatic but unstable individual with sociopathic tendencies, Combo expresses English nationalist and racist views, and attempts to enforce his leadership over the other skinheads. This leads the group to split, with young Shaun, the belligerent Pukey, and Gadget, who feels bullied by Woody for his weight, choosing Combo over Woody's apolitical gang.
Shaun finds a mentor figure in Combo, who in turn is impressed by and identifies with Shaun. Shaun goes with Combo's group to a National Front meeting. After Pukey expresses doubt over their racist and nationalistic politics, Combo throws him out of his group and sends him back to Woody. The gang then engages in bigoted antagonism of, among others, shopkeeper Mr Sandhu, an Indian shopkeeper who had previously banned Shaun from his shop.
Combo becomes depressed after Lol, Woody's girlfriend, rejects him when he admits that he has loved her since they had sex years before. To console himself, Combo buys cannabis from Milky, the only black skinhead in Woody's gang. During a party, Combo and Milky bond while intoxicated, but Combo becomes increasingly bitter and envious when Milky shares details of his many relatives, comfortable family life and happy upbringing, everything that Combo lacked. Enraged, Combo enters a frenzied state and brutally beats Milky unconscious, while Banjo holds down Shaun, and Meggy watches them on in horror. A pissed-off Combo throws Shaun out of his flat after defending Milky, then slams the door hard. When Banjo attempts to hit Milky as well, Combo violently beats him and evicts him and Meggy from the apartment. Horrified at the realisation of what he has done, a remorseful Combo weeps over Milky's body. Shaun and Combo later take Milky to a nearby hospital.
The film cuts forward to Shaun, who's looking at a picture of his dad who died in the Falklands in his bedroom contemplating the incident and brooding about what has happened, with his mother Cynthia assuring Shaun that Milky will be all right. Shaun is then shown walking near the beach and throwing his St George's Flag, a gift from Combo, into the sea.

Tags: murder, realism, violence, atmospheric, brainwashing, suspenseful, storytelling

Review:
And coming from a director who used to be part of the real scene, it might be the most authentic picture about skinheads ever made.Although it didn't get as much attention as the Hollywood films that had their premiere at the Berlinale Palast, it's a lot stronger than almost all the films in competition.I hope it will make its way the movies and not end up as a direct-to-video-flick...
There is much in the film that will trigger moments of recognition in the viewer, especially (but not exclusively) those who were young in the 80s.As big time skinhead Combo (the other stand out performance of the piece from Scouser Stephen Graham) comes out of jail the film takes a U-Turn, presenting a troubling, unrestrained view on racism through extreme nationalism, getting deep under the skin to question the source and nature of such hatred.
It is in this that we realise this is a study of human nature as Shaun is presented with more extreme acts that drive him to question the moral behind such irrational prejudices.Book ending the film is real news footage of the political climate surrounding the events depicted, prominent among which is Maggie Thatcher's invasion of the Falklands (a conflict that's consequences prove key to the central narrative) When asked "Will we ever talk to the Argentines again?" on a radio interview Thatcher purrs "No I don't think so" The parallels are fitting and thoroughly engaging.
Enter the gang Woody, Milky, Pukey, et all, a rag tag bunch of mods and skinheads complete with crimped haired girlfriends, with the absence of his father and any real sense of being part of something Shaun is quickly welcomed into the group and takes up not just the mannerisms or clothes but drinking, smoking and growing up to quickly.
The metaphor of the country getting behind Thatcher in the Falklands juxtaposed with that of the skinheads, including the initiated Shaun, getting behind the slightly off kilter Combo is handled with a great sense of poignancy and it is moving to see both stories unfold from within the film and library footage.
'This is England' is a must see for the type of persons who enjoy a good old 'innocence of youth' narrative (including a very comedic, almost cringe inducing, 'first kiss' scene) layered with powerful retrospective British realism reflecting early 1980's societal issues of the type that you wont see on any saccharin dipped 'i remember 1982' clip show.Based largely around the 'skinhead' activities of the early eighties its interesting to note that the story really draws distinctions between the types of skinheads - the nazi/racist and the two-tone/soul loving skinheads.Much like Mr Meadows other outings which tend to include a lot of relatively unknown and TV only actors/actresses, they all throw in sterling performances, particularly Stephen 'snatch' Graham as 'Combo'(sp.?) and the unknown Thomas Turgoose as young 'Sean'(sp?).The soundtrack is as usual strategically lined up to help convey with the overall look and feel, with musical styles ranging from reggae (toots and the maytals), punk and two tone.
A snippet of life in 1983- told through the eyes of an impressionable 12 year old-against the back-drop of the Falklands War.This film shows Director Shane Meadows at his best, a new generation Mike Leigh/Ken Loach.
Combo represents the pro-Nazi skinheads versus the fun loving petty vandalism of the Ska music and mod style teenagers.Steven Graham work deserves a standing ovation, far away of easy slapstick pop-corn performance he produced in Snatch (Guy Ritchie).
Although presented at a later stage in the movie as the anti hero, it is impossible not to feel for his profound facial expression and sympathise with his early age portrayal of innocence.Despite all round notable performances from the rest of the cast, I feel terribly let down by Jo Hartley's mediocre interpretation as Shaun's mother; however this can be considered a minor decay to an all round great piece of contemporary art.This is England crosses the boundary of the purely British audience oriented motion picture to a larger scale scenario where its intricacies are presented in manners which well enable the international audience to get a small picture of a bigger problem.In a world that tries to trade our eyes for feelings by diverting our attention to the big picture, such as United 93, it might be of some use to stop and stare at the small picture.
If political events take place AFTER the timeline the scenario is set then please don't include them In conclusion TIE had all the potential to be one of the great feel good movies ever to have come out of Britain a sort of THE FULL MONTY meets LITTLE VOICE and the way the film quickly becomes something " gritty and realistic " is somewhat unforgivable .
A film of raw, unrelenting and passionate power, This is England remains underrated director Shane Meadows greatest singular achievement and one of Britain's all-time great feature length films.Spawning a collection of worthy mini-series follow ups in the years that followed its critically praised initial release, This is England not only deals with a politically charged time in the United Kingdom's Maggie Thatcher lead period of the 80's but examines the deep undercurrent of racism often present in otherwise civilised western countries all the while being a touching coming of age story of Thomas Turgoose's 12 year old Shaun.Meadows, who has also displayed a power as a filmmaker to make uncompromising films of almost documentary style realism, evidenced in other standout efforts like A Room for Romeo Brass and Dead Man's Shoes, directs This is England with both an unflinching eye and a compassionate hand as his believable and lovable characters experience life changing events all the while surrounded by a country that has reached a boiling point of tension and rage.Led by Turgoose's incredible well-constructed debut turn as the vulnerable Shaun who finds himself a part of a ragtag group of skinheads and rascals, This is England's cast that includes such recognisable faces as Joseph Gilgun as the lovable larrikin Woody, Vicky McClure as the deep thinking Lol, Andrew Shim as the Jamaican/British Milky and a young Jack O'Connell as feisty teenager Pukey, is one of the Britain's best ever assembled casts, the case of the perfect performers coming together as a whole that proved it was no lighting in a bottle occurrence when the large portion of the cast returned again for Meadow's award winning TV follow-ups.As good as both Meadows and his cast are in This is England, this film is owned completely by one of the modern eras most commanding and attention grabbing performances by Stephan Graham as the racist, tormented and charismatic Combo.A performer who has proved time and time again that his one of the best working in the business, yet a performer who has yet to receive his just rewards, Graham's Combo is a creation that's hard to describe, a fully inhabited incarnation that can only be achieved by actors at the very top of their game.When Combo makes his entrance into This is England's characters somewhat carefree lives at the 30 minute mark of the film, Meadows film marks its change in direction and tone and enters into an hour or so of cinematic brilliance as we're driven along by Graham's tour de force turn and a story that may seem on the surface to be simplistic, but ends up flooring us with a knockout punch that will linger days after initial viewing.Encapsulating the time and place of this period incredibly well, a landscape full of checkered shirts, suspenders, shaved heads, Doc Martins and a killer soundtrack, Meadows team-up with his performers, that is steered on its powerful course by Graham, create the world that makes This is England such a special and in many ways important film experience.Final Say – Far from an easy watch, This is England may not be everyone's cup of tea but Shane Meadow's gut-punch of a film remains to this day one of the most deceptively powerful and memorably casted films of the 21st century that includes an outstanding debut performance from Thomas Turgoose and a career best turn from Stephen Graham.5 Ben Sherman shirts out of 5.
Its one, single, unique factor is that it portrays skinheads in their original identity - a bunch of fun loving, ganja smoking, reggae listening kids who dressed in those funny Erkle pants and red suspenders - then things get ugly.The events in this movie move along with no real purpose other than to move through a script and throw some heavy scenes in the viewer's face.
All in all an appalling piece of trite that is over marketed to to the masses I do hope the Americans don't believe we Brits were really like that..it was just a small minority that didn't have a a voice...Some of us were off tabbing around the Falklands at the time..much more interesting...but it wouldn't make a good film....
Set in the summer of 1983, it is a coming of age tale of Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) a 12 year old lad in a working class estate whose father died fighting in the Falkland's war.In one day he gets picked on several times and later gets befriended by a local gang of assorted street kids, some of whom are skinheads.
Pretty soon they are threatening the local Asian kids and robbing the Asian shopkeeper armed with a machete (who somehow never called the police.) You figure that pretty soon, Combo will do serious harm to someone.Director Shane Meadows does a good job in recreating the early 1980s scene in his film from art direction to costume design.
Even now over 30 years later they are still moaning and laying blame to whatever immigrant groups they can point to for their own failures.Meadows elicits good performances from a young cast but I was left nonplussed with the script and thinking about it we had many similar shows on television in the 1980s such as Going Out which starred Perry Benson who also features in this movie..
Still though, the performances were so amazingly real I was having a hard time believing they were acting and/or using a script.Then I realized the director was using the kind of style of films like Nick Gomez's "Laws of Gravity", except...
"This is England" is terribly tough but the moving neo-realist approach as well as Combo's stunning performance make it one of the best British films of recent times..
With young Shaun's mind being dangerously corrupted by Combo and his men, it's only a matter of time before things build up to end in disaster.Released a week before the elections, Shane Meadows' new film is in danger of being seen inadvertently (I'm sure) as a piece of BNP propaganda, with it's under-current of how racism and the motivation behind it has built up over the last twenty or so years in Britain.
It's only had a limited release so far, but it's been getting wide acclaim, especially for the lead performance of the young Turgoose (even being tipped as the next Jamie Bell.) I say dangerous because, as I said, the film is stabbing at how the threads of racism towards so-called 'minority groups' have been sown over the last twenty or so years in Britain.
I'm not racist and couldn't imagine a country with no black or Asian people (some of whom who I've met have been very nice.) But if I'm honest, there are times when I look around and worry, like Combo (and indeed the BNP) that there may be a bit too much immigration and that we're in danger of losing our cultural identity and I don't want that to happen either.
Shaun even takes a grown up girl, Smell (Rosamund Hanson), as his girlfriend and the film typically skirts a line between the shocking and the sweet in showing their relationship.Combo leads the men to a recruitment meeting of the racist National Front party and on to planned attacks on "Pakis." This rather quickly leads to disaster and tragedy.
The movie is a little less good than its reputation(from the critics to its prize at Cannes), but gives an touching and realistic portrait of England in the 80's.The all movie focuses on the point of view of a 12/13 years old boys, who's rejected by his fellow friends at school, but is attracted by an older group of Skinheads.
Its raw, gritty and comes like a wallop of nostalgia back to england in the 80's when having a laugh was getting wasted at a mates and chilling under the arches..then the confusion that came with these times encapsulated perfectly by shane meadows & a great cast..honourable mention has to be combo who stole the show in a masterclass of acting.
Thomas Turgoose puts in a very impressive turn as central character Shaun, the young schoolboy who falls in with a gang of skinheads, but for me, the standout performance comes from Stephen Graham as bitter ex-con skinhead Combo, a thuggish brute whose own personal issues have made him into a volatile racist prone to explosive outbursts of violence.
Twelve-year-old Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) is a lonely boy growing up in a grim coastal town in northern England, whose father died fighting in the Falklands War. Over the course of the summer holiday he befriends a group of local skinheads.
An uncanny evocation of a quietly pivotal moment in time, THIS IS ENGLAND bears witness to a young boy's coming of age while Britain's empire fades, Thatcherism devastates the working class, and skinhead culture takes a violent turn toward racist nationalism.
But there's humour here also, and heart.We witness the majority of the film through the eyes of Shaun Fields (Thomas Turgoose - his character's name a thinly-disguised spin on that of the director's), a ragged, bullied loner, who lives alone with his mother after his father is killed in the Falklands.
With some fun characters in the lighter moments, the film makes for a sweet main plot with the main character Shaun, but a dark and very dark of that vein with Combo, truly worth a watch if only for them two.The acting is good and Stephen Graham as the maniac of a skinhead Combo is great and although doesn't dominate the rest of the cast, probably gives the best performance.
In fact, the film buzzes with energy and humor, while propelled by brilliant, engaging performances.It's 1983 and 12-year-old Shaun Field (Thomas Turgoose) is an isolated lad growing up in a grim coastal town, whose father has died fighting in the Falklands war.
Combo is more than a heartless street thug, and that understanding is what makes Graham's portrayal so powerful.Meadows sentimentalism has sometimes gotten the better of his work, with tears and needlessly punishing violence, but not here.The film slows down and thickens as Shaun becomes embroiled in a subculture of hate – in moments, it's a little talky, but never loses its intensity.
Despite Shaun's iconic end actions the film doesn't bring out a positivity of overcoming the harsh period in his life I felt it would have benefit from having.This is England was one of the most enjoyable films I've witnessed for quite a while but with a little more originality and ambition during the second half it could have been a classic.Maybe next time Meadows..
This Is England goes some way to redressing the matter, but at the same time doesn't shy away from the more negative aspects that have become synonymous with the scene.The film tells the story of 12-year old Shaun, a young boy with few friends, and suffering at the hands of bullies in the playground.
Things are at the beginning positive for the boy, until Combo, an ex member released from prison, arrives, leading what was a group of alternative but good boys, to encounter racist and violent attitudes and obliging everyone, Shaun included, to make a choice.What stands out in the movie is the capability to render the deep needs stirring inside the young boy, a need for strength, for something and someone to identify with, with all the complexities and difficulties proper of the age, and worsened by a troubled social context.
Shaun (Turgoose) is being bullied at school and when Woody (Gilgun) and his gang invite him into their skinhead gang Shaun learns the difficult truth about Thatcher's England.Of all the brilliant British films to have been released over the last twenty years it is fair to say none have had provoked such a resonating truth to them as this Shane Meadows picture which is based on many of his personal experiences.This is England is set in the early 1980's a time of the Falkland's war that sets up the theme.
Set in early 80's England, it is the story of a wayward, intelligent young boy who loses his father in the Falkland War and drifts into the hands of a skinhead group led by a charismatic guy named Woody.
I would have liked to have seen the movie extended a bit more to develop the characters a little better so the questionable climax would not hold as much doubt, but even with all of it's imperfections, This is England is a well made coming of age story told with plenty heart and personality, and marks the complete arrival of Meadows as one of Britain's most important young filmmakers..
Of the cast, the experienced likes of Joseph Gilgun are as good as you'd expect, but the real triumph comes from the heartfelt and poignant performance of Thomas Turgoose, the lovable lead.The film starts off as a funny slice-of-life drama but gradually things take a darker turn with the introduction of a skinhead gang.
This is England is a decent story but at its heart it is a tale of belonging and how people fall into different social circles in order to obtain that feeling.The story is about a boy, Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) set in the 1980's, who is an outcast with school mates and lives alone with his mom after his father died in the Falklands war.