Review of This Is England (2007) by Steve L — 18 Sep 2010

So, that is how it happens. Like an ice-cold claw, touching your heart and freezing it up, this movie sinks into your conciousness.

Shaun, searching for shelter, a father-figure and acceptance, meets a group of Skinheads. Although much younger than the rest of them, he becomes a part of the group instantly. He was lonely, sad and depressed before. Now, he belongs. Suddenly there are people who stand up for him. He can follow their rules, adopt their dress code and their brutal humor.

Things change after Combo, a former member of the group, comes back from jail. Infected with extreme inhuman hatred, he takes over the leadership of the group. Shaun soon looks up to him. It seems like he has found a replacement for his dead father. But the spiral of brutality and blind hatred keeps spinning and tears Shaun deeper and deeper into the deadly undertow.