"This is England"

“This is England” Sean Meadows film offering, comes off as something of a beautiful lament for the 1980’s. But there is nothing saccharine about the images he draws from: The Falkland War, our Iron Lady Maggie Thatcher, Miners Disputes, Unemployment:

Acting as the backdrop to something like the “everyday tale of a young boy’s short distant travel in the summer of 1983”, from bullied & oppressed flared wearing ginger, to skinhead. His charming indoctrination into a small, tight knit crew of skins is dealt with admirably, and without much deliberation.

The original skinheads, their sensibilities and beliefs are only briefly touched on – these, remember, are 2nd generation skin’s – what there about, to begin with, seems more like benign resignation that life in England in the 1980’s had little to offer; and of course, to a certain faction, they were absolutely right:

But focus is put, quite rightly, on the positives of belonging to something; something with meaning, something solid – a feeling our main character is certainly in desperate need of:

What Meadows does so perfectly here is understated reality. Every character feels so very, very real. If you, like me, where 13 years old in ’83 – then this is incredibly familiar territory
Unlike the films of say “Scum, or Made in Britain that were made in the 80’s and were dealing with similar topics on a grander scale:, the anger, frustration, pessimism & confusions of the time are kept to just one character here – who’s return into the crew brings change, and ultimately this is where the films heart rings out. (You might want to compare some of the more darker commentary to American History X,)

This is, quite honestly, one of the most beautifully accurate and painful films to come out of England in a very long time. It does not try to answer questions; it tries to show how a seemingly good souls can become seduced, changed & Ultimately, damaged:

Meadows’ lament may well be the most poetic British cinema we’ve seen so far this decade