This is England

A conservative government, mass unemployment, social unrest, an emergence of racist blame game mentality, gang culture, misfits, youth violence a government at war without public backing,....Sound familiar?

The above could be a list of weekly headlines from the past decade and yet it is some of the themes of Shane Meadows’ 2007 film This is England. The fun part is that the film is set in 1983 and against the backdrop of real events and largely based on factual events. We’ve certainly not come along way in twenty years, in fact I’d say we’d been on a never ending loop of the local block. 

Bugger. 

So apart from the obvious depressing cultural/social/historical/political/economic relevance of the film, is it any good?

Yes, it’s bloody excellent. This film lures you in to the life of lovable misfit Shaun (the fabulous Thomas Turgoose) whose world changes when he meets Woody (Joseph Gilgun) and his gang. It’s all a bit wonderful to start with, a misfit being accepted into a misfit gang of skinhead stompers. They run around smashing stuff up, drink, smoke etc, all very messed up teenage stuff. This is until Stephen Graham’s psychotic Combo turns up and bursts the bubble.  

Combo steals Shaun away into a world of hate and violence that tries to justify itself with Right Wing Patriotism, in other words racist violent gangsters. 

It’s one of those films where nothing and everything happens at the same time. A masterpiece of story telling, film making and most of all acting from Graham, Gilgun and Turgoose.