Review for This is England

Director: Shane Meadows

Released: 2006
Genre: Drama

Back when I was a senior in high school, I read about This is England in the show section of my newspaper. The writer of the article had a lot of good things to say about the film, which was written and directed by Shane Meadows. This is England is a semi autobiographical account of Meadows' childhood, and takes place in a small coastal town in northern England during the summer of 1983. The movie focuses on the main character, a 12 year old boy named Shaun, and his desperate struggle to fit in. Such a premise has been played upon countless times before; what sets This is England apart is Meadow's inspired portrayal of the social and political turmoil his country was experiencing at the time.

At the time in which This is England is set, Great Britain was seen by many as a conflicted socialist state within, engaging in seemingly petty conflicts to maintain the small fraction of overseas territories it once possessed. The number of unemployed in the nation had soared to over three million, and a large portion of the working class felt disenchanted with the policies instituted by the newly elected Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Also, the British army was engaged in a struggle with Argentine forces over the Falkland Islands. This is England captures this perfectly, opening and closing with wonderful montages depicting the national and foreign dilemmas facing the country.

In This is England, Shaun has been unwillingly thrust into this chaos by the death of his father, who a year prior was killed in action in the Falkland War. Shaun is constantly made fun of by his peers for not identifying with any one schoolyard clique; after a fight with a classmate, he is let out of school early, and comes across a gang of older teenagers. One member of the group asks Shaun to hang out with them, and makes the boy feel better by poking fun at the classmate he picked a fight with. Soon, Shaun becomes close with the gang, which provides him with a much needed sense of identity. While his new friends engage in questionable acts of vandalism, they are not malicious people; they even decide resolve a conflict between Shaun and another member with a group hug, in between their ransacking of abandoned flats.

Everything with the new social arrangement seems fine, until one of the group's acquaintances, a white supremacist named Combo (played brilliantly by actor Stephen Graham), is let out of jail. He decides to take the gang in a new direction, effectively splitting up its affiliates. Combo is a very violent and unpredictable man, but immediately takes a liking to Shaun; the two become mutual best friends, despite their age difference. Combo begins to impose his radical doctrines on the group, aligning himself with the ultra conservative British National Front. Eventually, very bad things begin to happen because of Combo's impulsive and confrontational behavior, and Shaun must decide for himself who he should associate with.

This is England shows how good people get caught in with the wrong crowd, and how unemployed, disaffected men tend to gravitate towards the extreme in times of desperation. The dreary atmosphere of the region is perfectly shot- the shabby apartment buildings and overgrown weeds set against a dull gray sky exude a sense of gloom and hopelessness. Meadows perfectly captures a crucial moment in both his own childhood and in the history of his country in one fell swoop.

You can rent This is England on Netflix, or watch it for free on the Sundance Channel if you have Cox Cable (like I do). You will not be disappointed.

3.50/4.00