Movie Review: 'This is England'

This is... compelling, moving and touching. This is... powerful, provocative and difficult to watch. This is... as rewarding a cinematic experience as you're likely to see all year. This is England .

A sort of autobiographical tale—or at least written from a knowledgeable point of view— This is England is the fifth written and directed production from Shane Meadows ( Dead Man's Shoes ). Set in early '80s rural England, where racial inequality is rife, school is out for the summer for 12-year-old Shaun (Thomas Turgoose); a boy who cuts a lonely figure trudging about town. Struggling without a father figure since his dad's death fighting the Falklands war, Shaun is picked on at school and has no friends to speak of.

That's until he meets the charismatic Woody (Joseph Gilgun— British TV's Emmerdale ), the leader of an amiable Ska skinhead gang. Quickly assimilated into the gang, Shaun is given a fresh buzz-cut, a Ben Sherman shirt, some Dr Martin's boots and introduced to a world of parties, first love and the joys of real friends. However the arrival of racist ex-convict Combo (Stephen Graham— Snatch ) upsets their idyllic summer holidays. Dividing the gang with his radical opinions and nationalist rhetoric, several members take off, including Woody. Now with a new role model to look up to, Shaun begins a rite of passage that will leave him changed forever.

Although chiefly a story about the loss of childhood innocence, This is England is also about the deeply-rooted societal problem of the 80s: racism. All credit to Meadows for not shying away from it and tackling it (skin)head on. Musing on the nature of violence through hate, racism through nationalism and the cause and effect of unemployment and Thatcher's "me" culture, it's an unrestrained and unbiased look at individuals abandoned by society, vulnerable to the advances of the National Front and their manipulation.

Perhaps set to polarise people due to this humanising of the misguided and violent thugs, Meadows nevertheless deserves kudos for crafting wholly believable characters. This is thanks to the realism of his script and the naturalistic dialogue, as well as the performances of his entire cast.

Especially impressive is Stephen Graham's scary and surely star-making turn as Combo. The catalyst for Shaun's coming of age and the turn for the worst in events, his grandstanding performance is somehow matched by an unbelievable debut from Thomas Turgoose as Shaun. One of the best débuts ever, there probably aren't enough superlatives to describe just how magnificent he is—whether it's swearing and scowling out of the screen, or his deftness of delivery during some of the earlier lighter moments.

A director with an already impressive CV, Meadows has created what may stand as his masterpiece. Near-faultless in direction, writing, acting and recreation of the '80s era (especially the soundtrack) This is England is not only a visual triumph, also a raw examination of serious social issues that are prescient and relevant now. Taking pains to draw parallels with current events (the Falklands war, the Gulf war, the treatment of Muslims) and drawing on his own childhood experiences, This is England positions Meadows as the UK's answer to Spike Lee.

**** (Four stars out of five)