|
|
 |
This Is England
R1 - America - Genius Products Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (5th December 2007). |
|
The Film
 In the extra features of his 2004 film "Dead Man's Shoes" director Shane Meadows talks briefly about his upbringing and the skin head culture that gripped his life at an early age. Several years later he returns to those early moments in his life with his most personal film to date. "This is England" is not only a film that bases a lot of its narrative on the director's past but also is a snapshot of Thatcher era Britain and the climate in which it created among the working class people of the country. The film doesn't attempt to analyze in any detailed way or justify the resulting hooliganism of the youth and their spiral into that lifestyle and mindset but rather presents it as it was, honestly and without restriction. Meadows' film deservedly won the 'Best British Film' award at the British Independent Film Awards as well as 'Most Promising Newcomer' (On Screen) for the film's 11-year-old lead actor Thomas Turgoose who delivers a powerful performance for someone of such young age. "This is England" is set in the summer of 1983, young Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) is having a hard time fitting in, and he gets picked on at school while having to deal with his father's death. On his way home one day he encounters Woody (Joseph Gilgun) and a pack of skin heads that quickly take him as one of their own. Finally Shaun has found a place were he fits in, but things threaten to divide the group when Combo (Stephen Graham) returns home from Prison with a whole new attitude about what being a skin head is about and quickly takes Shaun under his arm, Shaun looks up to him as a father figure following his lead but a devastating act of violence leaves all that in question. It's evident from the film's trailer that audiences are in for a disturbing ride, and it's nice to finally see a film deliver all the promises made in its advertising. "This Is England" is Meadows' finest film to date, like its subject matter the film is raw, right down to its grainy texture and use of archival footage to earmark the era. This low-fi technique easily transports the viewer and establishes all that needs establishing in terms of time, culture and the social climate. I was impressed with the pace of the film and the deliberate nature in which is taken to highlight the key moments in Shaun's encounters that influence him in the film. The character, like most 11-year-olds is easily influenced and his spiral into the depths of skin head culture is honest and realistic. The group offers him such things as acceptance, friendship, and loyalty. And Combo takes that further by establishing a father figure role that Shaun so desperately needs especially after loosing his father in the Falklands War. Shaun is played by newcomer Thomas Turgoose who delivers a terrific performance occasionally outshining the rest of the cast; he's a young talent that displays an adult sense of range and emotion. A rare gift in such a young actor that easily places him among others such as Anna Paquin (for her Oscar winning role in "The Piano" (1993)), Haley Joel Osment, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Dakota Fanning and let's hope he continues on the path to great things. His turn is haunting especially his glare out to the audience as he looks directly into the camera in the film's final shot. Stephen Graham's portrayal of Combo is equally disturbing and unnerving, one can never guess when he'll snap, his scenes are tense filled sometimes beginning in calm manner but build up to a point where you'd feel increasingly uncomfortable if you were in the same room with the character. This evidenced by the scenes in which he unleashes his violent streak onto Milky (Andrew Shim). The film's rough edges and performances are its strongest attributes, but the themes make it hard to recommend to casual movie goers, a few script issues including an unresolved sub-plot between Combo, Woody and Woody's girlfriend sticks out but aside from that it is a fiercely truthful film that shows the desire to fit in, the type of influence that can easily take over if you allow it and it's painful result.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 this anamorphic transfer is a patchy image at best, made up of shot footage and some archival material the film takes on a rough look and thus the image is consistently grainy. As a result sharpness is compromised but it appears this is an aesthetic choice and helps ground the film in the 1980's. Colors are ok at best, but nothing pops out, and the choice of location is rather drab to begin with. Skin tones appear accurate and hold up.
Audio
A single English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track is included, aside from dialogue which is mainly front focused and the score this film doesn't really utilize the surround channels. Dialogue is clear and distortion free however some people might have trouble understanding the thick British accents at times (or at least the people who I watched this film with did...), the film's music comes across effectively and doesn't overwhelm the dialogue or the dramatic moments and finds a fine balance to impact the scenes. Some minor ambient effects are placed around the surround channels but it's nothing that would warrant an aggressive mix. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired and Spanish.
Extras
Genius Products has released this film with an audio commentary, a featurette, an interview, deleted scenes, a series of essays, the film's theatrical trailer and a collection of bonus trailers. Below is a closer look at these supplements. First up is a feature-length and mostly scene-specific audio commentary by writer/director Shane Meadows, producer Mark Herbert and lead actor Thomas Turgoose. The tracks kicks off as they talk about the archival footage used in the film's opening sequence and how it essentially sets the era and tone of the film, providing a grounding for the film immediately. They talk about how different the 1980's was compared to now, director Meadows comments on finding a location that is essentially stuck in the past and they managed to just outside of Nottingham. He also talks about the aspects of the film which are based on his youth and how he was influenced by skin head culture. He provides a background for the film and makes references to scenes in which are essentially lifted right from his life. Lead actor Turgoose talks about his experiences making his first feature film and shares his memories from the production as well, while producer Herbert occasionally chimes in about the production usually at the heels of Meadows who has the most interesting comments to say about the film and his own background. Overall it's an engaging track that is definitely worth listening to. Next is a "The Making of This is England" a short featurette which runs for 7 minutes 2 seconds and appears to be a made-for-TV EPK clip that covers the basics about what the film is about and includes some footage from behind-the-scenes and mainly includes an interview with the producer and director as they tell us what the film is about. Following that is an interview with the film's writer/director Shane Meadows which runs for 4 minutes 25 seconds, he comments on the autobiographical nature of the film, the different groups of kids in the 80's and on being drawn to the skin head culture. A series of 7 deleted scenes is next, these can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' function and include: - "Shaun and the Gang" which runs for 1 minute 13 seconds, Woody tells the gang about how Shaun took a beating and makes him feel welcome. - "Shaun at the Arcade" which runs for 1 minute 14 seconds, Shaun runs out of money but eventually wins more. - "Headmaster Sequence" which runs for 51 seconds, in the Headmaster's office after the fight he had in the school yard, the Headmaster warns him that he better be a good kid come next year. - "Cynth meets Smell" which runs for 45 seconds. Shaun's girlfriend introduces herself to his mom. - "Milky and Combo Buy Some Weed" which runs for 1 minute 25 seconds, Milky scores some weed for Combo who invites him back to the flat for a spliff. - "Long Walk Home" which runs for 3 minutes 58 seconds, instead of a ride from Combo, Shaun decides to walk home. - "Alternate Ending" which runs for 1 minutes 22 seconds, Milky and Shaun walk away together. The disc also includes two essays which are "Skinhead Culture: Cropped, Braced & Booted" and "The Falklands: A Pathetic War" both written by Darrell Buxton. The first focuses on the skin head culture including their style and history while the second focuses on the impact of the Falklands war and the reaction to it. Also included on the disc is the film's original theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 27 seconds. Rounding out the extras are a collection of bonus trailers for: - "Drama/Mex" which runs for 1 minute 4 seconds. - "Deep Water" which runs for 2 minutes 30 seconds. - "You Kill Me" which runs for 2 minutes 33 seconds. - "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" which runs for 2 minutes 15 seconds.
Overall
|
|||||
|