Review of This Is England (1941) by John P — 19 Jan 2011

This movie tackles a set and setting I can never experience: Thatcher-era lower-class British skinhead culture.

That said, this is damn fascinating, and also a great movie.

I've only seen one other Shane Meadows movie (Dead Man's Shoes), but this is by far my favorite of the two I've seen. The storytelling, acting, and mise-en-scene are fucking sweet, and the verisimilitude attempted to bring and early-80s culture to life succeeds largely because of the performances from the actors and actresses.

Thomas Turgoose plays Shaun, a 12-year old social pariah who just lost his dad in the Falklands War. He joins a group of ska-loving, innocent skinheads, and eventually crosses paths with their just-released-from-prison racist nationalist leader, played awesomely by Stephen Graham (formerly Jason Statham's sidekick in Snatch among other roles). These two form a bond, and inevitably, the innocent Shaun must make important decisions regarding his social life in the face of racism and violence.

This movie does a great job trying to evoke its set, setting, and characters without being esoteric at all. You don't need to understand skinhead culture, ska, the Falklands War, or British Nationalism (I certainly don't) to get the meaning or sympathize with the characters, and that, I think, is awesome.

The cinematography is sweet, too. Meadows uses 16mm film to great effect (he used it in Dead Man's Shoes, too).