THIS IS ENGLAND
For me, ‘This Is England’ is a film that completely changed the game in terms of the emotional rollercoaster that cinema is capable of taking you on. Shane Meadows sixth feature (and three subsequent TV mini-series, This is England ’86, ’88 & ’90) form a body of work that, quite literally, grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go.
In 2006, acclaimed writer Director Shane Meadows unleashed his latest feature, ‘This Is England’. A deeply moving and oft times disturbing coming of age drama set amidst the social decay of ‘Thatcher’s Britain’.
The story follows Shaun Fields (Thomas Turgoose), a lonely eleven year old who has lost his father to the Falklands war. He is befriended by a gang of Skinheads that take him under their wing and show him the best summer of his life. But trouble soon rears it’s ugly head, as Andrew ‘Combo’ Gascoigne (Stephen Graham), an older gang member, returns from prison with a violently racist outlook that splits the gang in two. Shaun is slowly seduced by the twisted rhetoric of the rising fascist movement until ultimately, his world comes crashing down with devastating and frankly shocking results.
Praised at the time for it’s candour in depicting such difficult subject matter, the film gained 16 nominations for both cast and crew and managed to bag a total of 13 awards including Best British Film at the 2008 Baftas and Best Director at the 2007 Newport International Film Festival, Rhode Island. (IMDb, 2009). Although lorded by peers and critics, the film suffered difficulties reaching it’s target audience when “…the film was given an 18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification, much to the dismay of the films production team who believe the film should have a 15 rating as it highlights important issues like the dangers of bullying and racism and it deserves to be seen by a younger audience.” (Channel 4 News, 2007).
The film’s Producer, Mark Herbert was clearly dumbfounded by the decision.
“…There’s very little violence in our (film). It's suggested, there's a threat of violence but actually there's not very much physical violence happens…” “…I was just comparing it recently with some films that I'd watched. In ‘Snakes on a Plane’ (Cert 15) there's 31 killings, ranging from someone getting a heal through the brain, very graphic…” “…’ Jeepers Creepers’ (also Cert 15), which is about flesh-eating animals? Our message of violence is very clear… …we're saying that violence does happen but it's not a good thing. We show the horrors. And when violence occurs we do it in a restrained way” (Channel 4 News, 2007). Restrained it might be but its impact hits you like a size 12, cherry red, Dr. Marten boot to the stomach and leaves you breathless.
From the outset, we are thrown into the colourfully bleak world of 1983, with archive footage of mass unemployment, civil unrest and pitched battles between protesters and police, the explosions of the Iranian embassy siege and nationwide miners strikes, smashed windows of ethnic family’s homes and the limbless bodies of Falklands veterans as they are dragged from the battlefield. “…you don’t see people on the streets anymore whereas back in the 80’s, everyone, it seemed, from women to miners to the riots in Birmingham, everyone seemed to be out saying what they thought.” (This Is England DVD commentary, 2007)
The attention to detail in everything, from the costumes and graffiti strewn locations, to the sweets on the shelf in the corner shop, is staggering. I believe the film was even graded in postproduction to give the whole piece a slightly worn, grainy look, kind of like that of a VHS tape (a process that took over a year to complete). Meadows crafts a story that draws you in, it is a pleasure to hang out with the gang, lead by the charismatic and endlessly loveable Woody, wonderfully played by Joe Gilgun.
In fact all the casting is flawless, the characters all seem so naturalistic in their performance and have real connections with each other because they hung out together, as a gang. Meadows work shopped the cast, letting them improvise and make the words their own, instead of just coming verbatim from the page. This creates a sense of realism that is unrivalled by most other films.
Even the most deplorable characters, that commit the worst atrocities, can be seen to be hurting and slightly broken inside. Making their actions, whilst not forgivable, somewhat understandable. They also realise their mistakes and try desperately to atone for them but, as in life, redemption can sometimes come far too late.
The first thing that struck me as I re-watched this film, was how many little bits I hadn’t remembered. Then I realised, “This is only my second full viewing of it?” The times I’ve tried to watch it before, when it has been shown of T.V, I’ve had to switch it off when it starts to get dark because it’s too near the knuckle for me to stand. I’ve known these people, I’ve seen this life, and it’s abhorrent. But, such is the power of great cinema. It has the force to entice and repel, to excite and entertain one minute and to leave you on the floor a jibbering wreck the next.
This Is England is a benchmark for what I wish to achieve as a director.
This Is the standard I have set for myself.
This Is the dream.
This Is Filmmaking.
Bibliography
Channel 4 News, 2007. Shane Meadows' This Is England - news item about the 18 cert. [Online] Available at: https://youtu.be/jQD7vd3B5A0 [Accessed 21 September 2017].
Channel 4 News, 2007. Shane Meadows' This Is England - news item about the 18 cert. [Online] Available at: https://youtu.be/jQD7vd3B5A0 [Accessed 21 September 2017]. Starts at 3:05 'This Is England' Producer Mark Herbert.
IMDb, 2009. This Is England (2006) Awards. [Online] Available at: www.imdb.com/title/tt0480025/awards [Accessed 21 September 2017].
This Is England DVD commentary. 2007. [Film] Directed by Shane Meadows.: Optimum Releasing, IFC Films, Film Four.
