Review of This Is England (2007) by Tyler B — 11 Nov 2009

"Run with the crowd, stand alone, you decide.".

A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.

REVIEW.

With his gift for sly naturalistic dialogue, skillful use of music and ability to frame poignant beauty into shots of the everyday, Shane Meadows is arguably the finest film-maker working in England today; and 'This is England' is among his best works, its understated account of ordinary youths just hanging out in the recession of the 1980s perfectly judged. Out of this, a plot develops, based on the growing involvement of the gang in skinhead politics. This transition does feel slightly manufactured, as the story places its characters in a slightly artificial state of innocence and thus depicts racism as something external that descends upon them, rather than as something more innately part of the fabric of their lives. But Meadows shows his customary strength in his depiction of (in some senses) unsavoury human beings with sympathy where appropriate, and where not, still with humanity: at their least edifying, his characters are still 100% human. The acting, meanwhile, from an inexperienced cast, is consistently great. "Low budget" can mean quick and perfunctory; but Meadows makes visual poetry. It's a tragedy that this in itself is apparently sufficient to preclude his wider success.