You May Have Missed: This Is England

A review of not-so-new foreign films you may want to be more familiar with

This Is England is not a comfortable movie to watch.  Hatred isn’t a comfortable subject in general, but seeing it come from children is even more chilling. 

England, a 2006 British independent film is about skinheads in 1980s England, based partially off of writer-director Shane Meadows’ own experiences.

Lonely twelve-year-old Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) gets taken in by a friendly group of young punks who identify as skinheads, but don’t seem to embody the stereotypical extremes of racism and nationalism that such a group typically portrays. It’s easy to see that these youth are more interested in keeping up intimidating appearances than truly acting on dark and hateful prejudices.

Shaun, who lives with his mother alone, quickly finds a second home in this group and looks to the leader Woody (played by the unsuspectingly charming Joe Gilgun) as the big brother he doesn’t have. However, the group dynamic changes when the older skinhead, Combo (played with unsettling skill by Stephen Graham), returns from prison and reveals his racist and supremacist views.

The group splits, and much to Woody’s – and undoubtedly the audience’s – surprise and dismay, Shaun sticks with Combo.

Read the full review and watch a clip after the jump.

We begin to see a change in Shaun. In an effort to make Combo proud, he begins to truly carry himself with the haughty ignorance of a white supremacist. It borders on comical given his tiny twelve-year-old stature, but finally comes across as heartbreaking, knowing this pliable young mind is being twisted and manipulated.

Turgoose delivers an outstanding performance, showing how easily and quickly a child’s opinions can be twisted and manipulated when the right person is acting as puppeteer. In a confrontation with a Pakistani shopkeeper, Shaun spits out demands for cigarettes and alcohol along with racial slurs picked up from Combo, eerily channeling his mentor’s hatred and simmering rage with great effectiveness.

With brutal honesty and skill, Meadows shows that hate is both timeless and timely, striking with the most impact at times and places where emotions are raw. In the film, it’s 1980s England, after Margaret Thatcher led the country to invade the Falkland Islands. Most recently, it’s surrounding controversies like the ground zero mosque. Sensitivity and fear unfortunately provide a lush breeding ground for prejudice.

Meadows’s film is emotionally exhausting, but the skill in which this film carries its essential message makes it worth every minute – right up to the striking last shot.