This is England
By Mal Simons, Blockbuster.co.uk

Never one to shy away from controversy, Shane Meadows has made some great films over the past decade but This is England has to be his best yet. Telling the story of a young boy who gets involved with skin heads when his father is killed in the Falklands war; like the majority of Meadows’ films, This is England is not exactly uplifting; it is however, an important window into the early eighties and a troubled point in British history.

Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) is a lonely 12 year old boy living in Yorkshire in 1982. His father has recently been killed in the Falklands War and Shaun is finding it difficult to handle life without him; and dealing with the bullies at his school. After being punished at school for fighting with a bully, Shaun returns home obviously upset. In the underpass by his house, Shaun happens upon a group of local skinheads who are nice to him and adopt him as one of their own.

These skinheads are different to the ones you may expect, apart from dressing up in strange costumes and hanging around in underpasses; these skinheads are a friendly group with no negative racial tendancies – indeed, there is a black lad as part of their group (nicknamed whitey). As part of this group, Shaun finally starts to get his life back on track and puts the past behind him with his Ben Sherman shirt and all. The group helps Shaun to come to terms with his loss and gives him the confidence to deal with bullies.

All is going well for Shaun until Combo (Stephen Grayham) is released from prison and attempts to reclaim his title of leader of this group. Once in control, Combo turns the group from a gang of friends to a gang of racists. Many of the existing members quit and go their own separate way and attempt to take Shaun with them. Unfortunately Shaun is too young to see the danger and is brainwashed by Combo and the BNP propaganda he has been spouting that links his father’s death in the Falklands War to the problems that they see with a multicultural England.

Shaun is a young kid that doesn’t know any better and makes some rather ghastly mistakes while under the wing of Combo and the other thugs. Meadows masterfully captures the mood at the time, the reality of these hateful views but all the while, without alienating us from Shaun himself.

This is England is the best British film of the year. A window into troubled times, the film boasts a compelling script, terrific acting and eighties era soundtrack. It’s a trip down memory lane – warts and all. Highly recommended to rent.