A Room for Romeo Brass

Plot synopsis:
12-year-old boys Romeo Brass and Gavin Woolley have been best friends and neighbors for the majority of their lives. Gavin suffers from injuries to his back to subject him to bullying from other local boys to which Romeo quickly steps to defend him. On one particular day two boys confront Gavin and once again Romeo steps in and things turn violent, and since Gavin's injury prevents him from fighting he can't assist his friend. During the fight Gavin spots Morell and calls for him to help and Morell chases the two boys off and then drives Romeo and Gavin home. Upon meeting Morell Romeo's family quickly deduce his behavior as peculiar. Morell quickly develops an immediate attraction to Romeo's sister Ladine and seeks Romeo's advice to go out with her, Gavin takes the opportunity to play a trick on Morell that would result in him humiliating himself. Morell returns to the shop where Ladine works to apologise and ask her out again to which she accepts out of pity.
Morell encourages the boys to miss school one day and accompany him to the beach. When Romeo goes off to buy ice cream, Morell confronts Gavin about the prank and viciously threatens him if he ever tries to do it again. Romeo continues to spend time with Morell which distances him from Gavin who goes in for an operation to his back and distances himself from Morell's antics. Romeo also looks to Morell as a new father figure after his violent, estranged father Joe turns up back in his life which infuriates him. Morell begins to influence Romeo to behave more violently and convinces him to stay away from Gavin whilst continues to pursue Ladine who is greatly disturbed by his eccentric behaviour. Whilst on a date Ladine sits in Morell's flat and makes a pass at her which she rebuffs. Angry and rejected, Morell tries to force Ladine to at least fool around with him after which she storms out.
Morell takes his frustrations out on Romeo displaying his bullying antics to him now and forces him out of his flat. The next day Morell forces Romeo into his van to follow Ladine and Morell beats a customer Ladine was flirting with close to death in front of Romeo and he runs away. Upset by Morell's actions Romeo goes to Gavin's house where he is comforted by Gavin's parents. Morell follows Romeo back to the Woolley's and starts to bully Gavin's dad Bill. Witnessing this Joe steps in to defend Bill and attacks Morell and forces him away. Romeo and Gavin reconcile their friendship and restore the lives back to normal.

Tags: violence, prank

Review:
This is a truly great film, not seen by enough people in my opinion, Shane Meadows is a breath of fresh air for the British film industry, and I won't hesitate to go and see his next film, on the strength, of his last two ( twentyfourseven, romeo brass ) While most british audiences are somewhat ignorant to quality films like this, and would rather watch overrated films like 'Lock Stock...' there is always a hardcore of fans for films like this.
Shane Meadows is inspired by the likes of Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, possibly Britain's best independent directors, but Meadows adds a bit more 'cheer' to this film, who says its uncool to have a happy ending?
Romeo and Gavin are twelve year old pals, who have a great understanding of each other, and their surroundings, but then their friendship is tested when Morrel ( Paddy Considine ) enters their life, at first he is a pal, but why is a grown man hanging around with two boys?
Whether Meadows will ever break out and be a hit outside of the British Isles is highly debatable, his Dead Man's Shoes from 2004 was well received away from his home shores, but you would be hard pressed to find anyone in American multiplexes (for example purposes only) who could tell you who he is, which for a director who has his finger firmly on the pulse of characterisation, that is a crying shame.A Room For Romeo Brass is the tale of two teenage boys who during a fight with some bullies meet gangly loner Morell, as Morell starts to take an unhealthy obsession with Romeo's sister, their friendship is pulled apart, but this is merely the start of Morell's impact as he is about to explode into both of the boys already fractured families.That's all you need to know really, for there is no more to tell, and this is one of Meadows's main strengths, there are no hidden agendas, no allegories of wars, this is just an everyday English housing estate with two families awash with everyday characters.
Well it may be best not to find out eh?Paddy Considine makes his film debut here (thankfully he is now a name across the waters), and his turn as Morell is as scary as it is sad.
I must mention big Frankie Harper (Dog in Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels), playing Romeo's estranged father, he gets it absolutely note perfect and I was delighted to see Meadows give him the film's crowning moment.A film that opens with The Specials and closes with The Stone Roses should always appeal to an English heart, but lets get Shane Meadows' work out there to the masses, for here is a man who even gives an end credit mention for the man who turned on the generators, a man making films for the people, about the people in our midsts.
Shane Meadows seems to improve with every picture, following up the raw promise of 'Small Time' and the almost great 'TwentyFourSeven' with this priceless jewel, which is proof that Meadows alone carries the torch of the British film industry forward amidst the Guy Ritchie pap we churn out on a regular basis.Although the acting from some of the minor characters was a bit on the dodgy side, Paddy Considine shone as the socially inadequate Morrell and the two lads (and their fathers in a memorably frightening final scene) did a solid job.
The usual 'working class' signifiers (a guest appearance by Kathy Burke, or chain smoking as a character trait) were thankfully missing.'A Room For Romeo Brass' was an excellent piece of observation.
In this film, Meadows' love is obviously directed at the valiant and caring mothers, but he allows the fathers of the boys, who appear never to get it right, to finally redeem themselves, each in his own way.In talking with Shane Meadows, I learned that he recruits his actors from the 6 - 20 year old group of actors in his town, and that he is very proud of the fact that, by this means,  he can help them take a step toward extricating themselves from their hard lot in life.
The several tone shifts within the film are the result of steady direction rather than shoddy plotting, and Paddy Considine's remarkable performance as "Morell" more than compensates for some shaky rendering by a few of his co-stars.Meadows here creates characters who are unfailingly interesting and rarely easy to predict.
Adults tend to find that a lot harder to do.I watched this film without knowing anything about it, so perhaps I found the scenes where Morell threatens the two boys on different occasions to be extremely shocking (incidentally, the swearing which is almost constantly present in the film is NOT shocking in the slightest).The main thing that I got from the film was concerned with how masculinity is defined - Morell tries to teach Romeo Brass how to be a "man" via weird survivalist techniques - violence, macho posturing, being able to take care of yourself seem to be the ways that masculinity is mediated.
It was interesting that Knock-Knock's father and Morell were both wearing almost identical shell-suits in the violent climax scene.While this was technically a good film, I found it to be much more disturbing than Zombie Flesheaters or whatever, because of its realism..
In fact, support any film that has a DECENT story to tell and something to say.Besides being a funny musing on friendships - Romeo and Gavin are best of mates, yet rarely say anything 'nice' to each other - in the best of British humour, it also contains perhaps one of the most frightening characters to be seen in a film in a very long time.
FANTASTIC!While Meadows is prone to indulge in the good old "finger-picking-guitar-music-over-shots-of-sombre-people" method of setting a mood, and does it fairly often, he can be excused EASILY by the power of this film, blending a PERFECT mix of humour and drama.In my view, I'd pay 5-times the admission price for the climax alone.
On one level the majority of the cast played their parts with the provincial rudiments of a Mike Leigh social drama, but intersecting this plateau was the brilliant unfolding of the Morell character, (Paddy Considine), a splendid mixture of Bez and Ewen Bremner, and my vote for the most memorable performance at 2000 at this early stage.
'A Room For Romeo Brass' is the best British film I've seen in years, if that doesn't sound like too much of a cliche.
It's almost completely undefinable- just when you think that it's a real-life type of comedy, it switches to being extremely disturbing, and you don't quite know where you are for the rest of the movie (in the best possible way, believe me).
Like all of Shane Meadows films, it takes a look at the working-class world of his youth, but is unique amongst this type of British film because it's funny without being sentimental or condescending, and dark without being depressing.
Morell takes a shine to Romeo's sister and starts hanging around with the boys but he is slightly unhinged and his friendship with Romeo threatens to split the friendship of the two boys.I watched This is England recently and it encouraged me to look back across other Shane Meadows films that I hadn't seen either for years or at all.
The two characters of Romeo and Gavin are both well written and convincing and mostly they move the film along, even though I wasn't totally convinced that Morell would be able to get the type of relationships he got before everyone realised what he was about.
Other than this slight issue though, the film does engage and it is mainly thanks to the acting.Meadows directs his cast well while also making good use of music and the movement of the camera.
If your looking for a flick with a stylistic soundtrack and the complete "laugh and cry" package A Room for Romeo Brass is your film.
Paddy Considine at his best Shane Meadows is our generations leading writer and director in the dark and the sublime.
It feels like a home movie, in a good way and I look forward to watching more of Meadows' work, he is definitely one of the UK's best.
When he arrives home he hands his mother and sister two small packets of whatever he hasn't eaten.Shane Meadows, the director, and co-writer of this surprising small film knows a thing, or two, about young boys and the way they act toward one another.
In pursuing the girl, Morrell is instrumental in separating the two friends.The main reason for watching this film is Paddy Considine's work in it.
The 2006 film, which was a critical and award winning success, was a development of the themes, characters and style introduced here in 'A Room for Romeo Brass'.Through an endearing prologue starring a bag of chips we are introduced to Romeo (Andrew Shim) and his best friend 'Knocks' (Ben Marshall), two midlands boys on the verge of adolescence, representative of a young Meadows and his co-writer, Paul Fraser.
Morell is 'overcome with love' when he meets Romeo's sister Ladine (Vicky McClure, who would later play Shim's love interest 'Lol' in the 'This is England' film and series).
It is not long though before the laughing stops, as Knocks is left alone for just a few moments with Morell's darker side.The gripping layered performance of Morell by Considine makes it difficult to believe that this was the actor's first movie role.
The plot centres around the main leads; Romeo and Gavin,('Knocks')telling us of the jumps and bumps of their friendship.Meadows works with these simple elements producing a finished product that is cinematic treasure; Wryly observed, it's full of the sorts of spot-on observations often lost when adults try to recreate the escapades of children.
Therefore, when I was told I would be watching A Room For Romeo Brass, which was also directed by Meadows, I thought it might be enjoyable to say the least.What starts out as an upbeat comedy-drama about the friendship between two young boys is extremely enjoyable.
As he's finished "evening them out"(!) he looks at the portions, exclaiming "I don't believe it, why have I done it again???", Gavin just tells him as simply as he can (and as an honest friend would) "Because you're fat!"Through a chance encounter the boys meet and befriend a stranger who is more than 10 years older than them, a certain Morell, who is eager to date Romeo's sister.
As his advances on Romeo's sister slowly but surely turn into obsession, the boys' friendship is tested as he drives them apart...All of the acting is tremendous, with all of the characters being written and portrayed as realistically as possible, with a nice little cameo appearance by Bob Hoskins as Gavin's dedicated teacher.
The camerawork is also done very well, and the soundtrack fits the mood of the upbeat but slightly disturbing progression and finale of this great movie.As for irony, I'll let you work it out yourself from the film (and the other reviews on this page which I've read!), such as who is dependent on who, and when and why...
The two young lads are brilliantly played and Paddy Considine as the older and disturbing Morel is excellent.
At first we take to Morel as being a loveable but hapless innocent and it's a long time into the film before we, the audience, realise that he is not quite all there.Shane Meadows portrays ordinary working class people in an honest and truthful light and he does not use them to make social points.
just sitting here watching this and ...wow...Paddy Considine what a great job he does starts of all nice and shy then starts to turn....and man does he turn .....mind you ....whats up with the dad (bill) ...wheres ya balls ....I do like the way Paddy delivers his performance on this on e and think i will try and find out more about his work!
The realist style and working-class setting are familiar from the films of Mike Leigh or Ken Loach, but this movie - to its great credit - doesn't have any of the stereotyped characters or heavy-handed social comment that occasionally mar the output of those directors.The acting is perfect - natural, unforced and totally convincing.
Paddy Considine as Morell - the odd character who befriends the boys, and whose increasingly erratic behaviour forces confrontations in both their families - gives an especially subtle performance, inspiring our laughs, sympathy, toe-curling embarrassment and - ultimately - our horror.
I bought this film, knowing that Shane Meadows had made This Is England and Dead Man's Shoes, and knowing that Paddy Considine was electric in everything in which I've seen him.I cannot say that I was disappointed in this film.
romeo and knocks are best friends until the former befriends an interesting character called morell who leads the boys down a dark and violent path in his quest to date romeos sister all the while pushing the previously inseparable boys friendship to the test.
great characters all round especially from knocks comical dad and a simultaneously hilarious and disturbing performance from paddy considine - who i first saw in 'stoned' - check both out!
A Room for Romeo Brass is a good film, but not great.
I used to visit the fish and chip shop, the park and some of the same streets on my way to school (Oldfield(?) School shown in the film isn't in Calverton).I enjoyed Twenty-four Seven and like Shane Meadow's use of non-actors.
The two boys and Paddy Considine were great but Romeo's mother and sister were disappointing in comparison.
Paddy Considine made his name as weirdo loser Morell, a character the film treats with sympathy even though he is evidently a danger to its child heroes: a welcome contrast to the Hollywood world where oddballs are either really all right (and actually not that odd), or pure evil.
What really stands out in this super film are the odd, unglorified moments that completely shift one's perception of what is going on; such as the first indications of Morell's manipulativeness; the moment when Romeo, not usually the most adult of teenagers, grows instantaneously into the role of man of the house on the reappearance of his own, unwanted father; and, near the end, when his friend's dad, who until this point has appeared a man of no qualities whatsoever, offers himself as sacrifice in order to protect the boys.
I had seen some of Shane Meadow's earlier work (Twenty Four Seven, Smalltime, and Where's The Money Ronny?) and been very impressed by it but Romeo Brass is so far ahead of anything the director had done before that it knocked me sideways.
This moment is handled so well and one of the film's chief assets is the stunning performance by Paddy Considine (Romeo Brass is, amazingly, his debut).
Made in 1999 by the talented Shane Meadows, A ROOM FOR ROMEO BRASS is a comedy drama about a pair of middle school best friends and a stranger that rumbles his way into their lives.While fending off a couple, older soccer bullies, Romeo and Gavin are assisted by a stranger named Morell, a lanky twenty-something who though initially seems nice enough, has some serious deep seated issues.
It isn't until Morell asks to meet Romeo's sister do things suddenly change for the worse, and a simple prank by Gavin has the sensitive Morell pushing the friends apart.Through intimidation does Morell succeed, and as you continue to watch his character, it's quite obvious that despite his age, Morell emulates his younger friends, only worse; bullying the boys, and inevitably, everyone in his path too cowardly to stand up for themselves.The film is a great character study of friends growing apart, family change, adult responsibilities in a child's world, and where your allegiances will always lie.Paddy Considine is a tour de force as Morell.
I was really looking forward to this one, after thoroughly enjoying Dead man shoes, which was a great film....The movie starts and the intro segments begin to play, introducing the two boys Romeo and Gavin.
Morell (Paddy Considine) had been introduced and had appeared to have developed a strange relationship with the boys, and i was left wondering why the boys parents would even let their boys be associated with this strange man, who appeared to be 'not quite the full ticket' in the first place.The scene in the clothes shop where Morell was dressed in a shell suit delivering gifts to Romeo's sister was cringe worthy, and there was no way in hell that his sister would have had anything to do with this weirdo after that performance, which makes the film seem even more unrealistic when she agrees to go on a date with him...The kissing scene was even more far fetched, and this just wouldn't happen in the real world, even if she did feel slightly sorry for him...The film takes a sinister turn shortly after this and provides the first bit of action...My heart skipped a beat when Morell pulls out a knife on Gavin, and it was a quite a random shock.
Shane Meadows offers some interesting observations on society, but it's Paddy Considine's magnificent performance that really makes this worth watching.
Romeo (Andrew Shim) and Knock Knock (Ben Marshall) are best friends at the start and as the film progresses they slowly begin to drift apart when Morell (Paddy Considine) arrives on the scene.
This is one thing that Shane Meadows excels at and once again I'm prepared to take my hat off to him.Of course the real reason to watch this film is for Paddy Considine's performance.
It's not quite as good as Meadows other films such as Dead Man's Shoes and This Is England.
However, it does have some strong characters and a gritty realism about it, but as mentioned Paddy Considine is what really makes this film worthy of your time.