"Some people say we're racists, We're not racists. We're realists. Some people call us Nazis, We're not Nazis. No, what we are, we are nationalists and there's a reason people try to pigeonhole us like this. And that is because of one word, gentlemen. Fear.”
As a Sequel of This is England is on the horizon soon, I thought it would be fitting to review it. A movie about skinheads and racism was always going to be a touchy subject when released in 2006, especially at a time where the UK was cracking down on racism. Director Shane meadows does well in producing a movie that the majority of the UK can relate to in the 80’s.
The film is about a 12 year old schoolboy Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) having a bad day at school and on his way home he runs into some non racist skinhead’s. After a talk the skinhead group decides to accept Shaun into their group as long as he follows their rules. Shaun starts to enjoy his friendship with the skinheads and finds a girlfriend, things change when a older skinhead Combo (Stephan Graham) returns from prison to rejoins the group. Combo, who is violent and racist starts to change some on the members in the group view on Blacks and Asians and brainwashers them to hate them.
The movie definitely relates to events which happened in the early 80’s and more specifically 1983, when racism was very much alive still and the Falkland’s war was still happening. I guess this was one of the reasons why it reasonably successful, because a lot of people can relate to the story and know about the events in the 80’s.
Shane Meadows defiantly exceeded himself by producing this movie, before This Is England he was just a low key director doing short films which never really got noticed, so this was a big step up from his previous work. Even after the success of this movie, he hasn’t been able to do anything that has come close to the achievement that this movie gained.
Just like the film, the actors where low key and most of them where making their debut in the acting business. I wouldn’t say the actors where amazing but they did pull off a good job. They showed a lot of emotion and gave a realistic look of what life was like in the 80’s. Thomas Turgoose who played Shaun was fantastic playing a vulnerable child not knowing what he has actually got himself into and although he acts tough at times to fit in, he is defiantly an innocent kid.
With a budget of £1,500,000, the movie exceeded itself and with so little money, it still managed to advertise a fair bit and make a decent profit in the cinema. It is a movie which frequently is aired on the television and is on many lists of the best UK films ever including the guardian’s top 100 British films. Shane Meadows recently revealed a four-part television drama will be aired in September and it will be the sequel of This Is England, it will star the same cast and their will be about their struggles in events in 1986 which include unemployment due to Prime Minister Margret Thatcher, recession, and racism.
This Is England is definitely a movie that will keep your emotions running throughout the movie, it is touching, heart warming, honest, funny and a deeply moving portrait of the 80’s in England. Whether you like it or not, this film is defiantly an English film at its best.
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