This Is England 5 Star Review

It has been a long time since I have had such a powerful experience watching a film. This Is England is an incredible piece of work. The performance of Shaun, the little boy whom we join as the drama unfolds is simply breathtaking. So untypical of a Hollywood Movie Kid but the cause of me having tears running down my face on at least two occasions in this troubling, fascinating piece of work. Growing up in the 80's, Shane Meadows had me from the moment Roland Rat appeared on the screen! There were so many moments where I was immersed back in my childhood. But it is through the eyes of Shaun that we walk, and it is quite a journey. Meadows is a quite brilliant film-maker. There were moments where the humour and warmth reminded of Mike Leigh, and then the people sitting around chatting about anything, an on form Tarantino and then the flip from slowly built up tension to explosive violence, a Mean Streets echoing Martin Scorsese. I loved this film, but of course found it at times to be extremely uncomfortable. What is England? There are so many brilliant performances in this film, I could go on and on. It is rare in a film that you sit there willing the protaganist to make a different choice though understanding when he does make a wrong one. Shaun's deceaced in the Falkland's father being the cause of probably the most decisive decision he makes. When Shaun stands up to the returning from prison leader of the skin-heads, I was on the edge of my seat. Getting a young actor to portray so much hidden anger and then far from hidden remorse in a scene which is so full of tension anyway, deserves every acting nod this young lads shelf can hold. This film should be seen, films like this affect you, so few films coming out this Summer will do that. They will be entertaining but ultimately forgettable. Some scenes in This Is England will never leave me. I remember in 1995 when Empire magazine said loudly on the release of Trainspotting, "Come in Hollywood! Your time is Up!" Well, we don't need Hollywood on the strength of films like this. They provide the popcorn, Shane Meadows provides the meat. I am aware that some will search out this film on the strength of this review and others but can I just say this film is not for everybody. The language is absolutely extreme. The F word being used by characters like I would say, maybe, or really. But that's part of the point, for some, bad language is there language in everyday life and thus it does have a naturalistic appeal which you get used to. Obviously the moments of racist abuse are very hard to swallow, but again, that's kind of the point. The character who says them has chosen a road that will have extreme consequences on him and those around him. This film hits so many emotional buttons, I came out a quivering wreck!

So 5 stars, thumbs ups, squiggley symbols, whatever you want to call them. A brilliant piece of work and if this isn't up for many many BAFTA'a next year, I will personally destroy my copy of The Queen which I believe was up for about 7!