This Is England

(Shane Meadows/2006/UK)

An autobiographical account of Meadows time as a skinhead and his flirtation with the right wing nationalist movement in Britain in the early 80’s, This Is England combines flawless attention to detail in setting and costume, great characterisation and music to tell a story full of humour, pathos and darkness. It’s a rites of passage tale with an incredible performance by the young Thomas Turgoose. Meadows excels at capturing the mood of the time, he is a director, similar to Ozu, who can communicate a sense of place effortlessly in a simple cutaway. Without any concession to moralising we are very effectively shown how the emotions of loss and disaffection can be harnessed and used to promote ideologies of hatred. It works as a cult youth flick and a warning to future generations simultaneously. His use of Turgoose, an unknown non-actor at that point, and portrayal of a generation of British working class bear a lot of similarities to Ken Loach’s Kes. Also the promo poster is lifted straight from Quadrophenia, another great cult youth movie.

(4/5)