This is England review

DVD of the week – A powerful rite-of-passage Brit flick that packs a punch, This is England is an important film which should not to be missed.

Writer and director Shane Meadows’ semi-autobiographical drama about growing up in the 1980s, is a significant mix of skinheads, solitude and seething angst. Set in 1983, This is England focuses on Shaun, a lonely, fatherless 12-year-boy (played remarkably by young newcomer Thomas Turgoose), who is adopted by a gang of Dr Marten-wearing skinheads.

Following the Falklands War, Thatcherite Britain’s political climate is shown to be a volatile mix nationalistic propaganda and violent discontent, as the withdrawn child wanders the streets searching for a sense of belonging – which he finds in the unlikely form of a gang headed by Woody (Joseph Gilgun), a charismatic and benevolent teenager who befriends the boy.

Rather than the militant group of white supremacists shown in American History X or Romper Stomper, Meadows’ wily bunch are shown to be less of a cohesive group of hoodlums and more a collection of personalities who’s wardrobe may include Ben Sherman shirts and braces but whose ideology is anything but unified.

That is until the explosive nationalist Combo (Stephen Graham) enters the picture and splits the group along political lines. Blaming England’s economic problems and growing unemployment on the influx of foreign minorities, Combo persuades Shaun and other gang members to make a stand, preserving England for the English – with devastating consequences.

While the brutal violence will leave a lasting impression, so should the extraordinary tenderness exemplified, in a story which is the antithesis of sugary sweet coming of age films you might have seen before. With first rate acting, a powerful storyline and faultless direction, This is England not only shows Meadows as a shining light in British cinema, but is significant in its own right – as a film depicting England in all its glory and gore.

Film: This is England
Directed by: Shane Meadows
Starring: Thomas Turgoose, Joseph Gilgun, Stephen Graham
Classification: 15
Release date: 3 September 2007
Available from: Amazon.co.uk for £11.98

Michelle Byrne
3 September 2007