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Writer/director -
Shane Meadows
Director
of photography - Danny Cohen
Editor -
Chris Wyatt
Music -
Ludovico Einaudi
Production
designer -
Mark Leese
Producer -
Mark Herbert
IFC First Take and Red Envelope
Entertainment. 98 minutes. This film is not
rated.
STARRING:
Thomas Turgoose (Shaun), Stephen Graham (Combo), Jo Hartley (Cynth),
Andrew Shim (Milky), Vicky McClure (Lol) and Joe Gilgun (Woody).
If you encountered twelve-year-old Shaun on the street, you might
just call the cops. You might shake your head and wonder how such a
young English boy could become a hardened criminal, defiant of
authority, acting as if he owns everything in sight.
Director Shane Meadows understands Shaun. And his new film, This is
England , helps us understand him too. It begins in 1983, in a small
English town, where Shaun (played by an extraordinary
young actor Thomas Turgoose) and his mother are living with the
burdensome loss of Shaun's father, who died fighting in the Falklands.
Without a father figure, Shaun is downcast and sullen. Lacking the funds
to achieve any kind of "cool," he's humiliated at school. He needs
someone to step in, show him how to be a man,
and fill the void in his heart. One day, as he trudges down a
path beneath a bridge (the traditional hiding place for dangerous
trolls), Shaun encounters some skinheads who show him respect,
kindness, and the comfort of
brotherly affection. Their rowdy camaraderie
gives him the community and status he desires. And when a brutal,
racist called "Combo" shows up and shifts the balance of power in the
neighborhood, he becomes a charismatic father-figure.
He leads Shaun into an aggressive nationalist movement, which
gives him a sense of identity and purpose. This drive to "take back"
England from the rising tide of immigrants poisons Shaun's vulnerable
mind with devastating ideas. This leads to
devastating consequences. This is England is a tough
movie to watch. While the skinheads’ relentless profanity, violence, and
sexually explicit talk will shock (and likely offend) many viewers,
This Is England is a compelling and realistic depiction of young
people seduced into lives of violent crime.
Meadows does not glorify hatred or violence. Instead
he shows us enough to help us understand how kids can be drawn
into lives of reckless hatred.
Unable to control any aspect of their world, they
lash out at whatever convenient target captures their imagination, or
whatever dangerous leader knows how to exploit their pain.
There’s no escaping the irony when Shaun walks past the Church of
Christ, which stands as empty as a tomb. Who will reach out to these
children? Who will notice them?
It's hard to watch. But taking on the burden of
these troubled teens, we take a step toward compassion.
(In limited release—coming soon to DVD.)
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