Review of Somers Town (2008) by Alan W — 23 Aug 2008

Originally envisioned as a promo for Eurostar, itâ??s hard to imagine accomplished British auteur Shane Meadows, his best works dealing in gritty realism of the Midlands, taking on a London corporate gig and blowing it up into a full feature film.

But if it sounds dubious that a private company has decided to completely fund a film, then allow me to assure you that Meadows is no hack and has managed to produce a simple but joyous tale that just happens to subtly promote the development and opening of Eurostarâ??s St.

Pancras station; but hey, itâ??s pretty honest about it and itâ??s better to be advertising a train than the very worst kinds of product placement seen in a James Bond film. Now that the ugly business of private investment is out of the way, Meadows collaborates with fellow screenwriter Paul Fraser with total artistic freedom in the industrial playground of the regenerating Kingâ??s Cross area, through the eyes of two youths: Tomo (Thomas Turgoose, who made his terrific debut in This Is England), a cheeky chappy runaway from the midlands and a shy Polish teen Marek (Piotr Jagiello).

Thereâ??s no major plotline to follow, more like a free-wheeling sequence of the lovable pairâ??s unlikely friendship as they kill time by trying to make money through some crazy little schemes, get drunk and fight for the affections of a pretty French waitress, which puts us straight into the gloriously fun French New-Wave style made famous by Jules and Jim.

But the monochrome cinematography and locations, nicely backed by some simple acoustic strings from Gavin Clark, also hark back to the kind of industrial social romanticism previously achieved by the Ian Curtis biopic Control.

With English rawness and humour, mostly thanks to a very naturally amusing Turgoose, and stereotypically romantic French style mixed in with the Polish characters, a scruffy but tender relationship between Marek and his father, Meadows is certainly successful in painting a modest vitality of multicultural London in its sadly short 70 minute running time.

And if its final bursting into colour makes you want to take your next trip on the Eurostar, well thatâ??s no bad thing really, is it? Better that than drink Coca-Cola or buy Chanel products.