This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2007)
This is England is a 2006 drama film both written and directed by Shane Meadows. The story is based around the realities of a group of Skinheads in England in 1983; it highlights their subculture of West Indies reggae which became influenced by far-right, white nationalists and supremacists, leading to divisions within the original skinhead culture. The title of the film is taken from a scene wherein the most passionately nationalist character, Combo, is ranting that “This is England”.
The film grossed £5 million at the box office, a level of success that landed the approval of three sequel TV series: This is England ‘86 (2010), This Is England ‘88 (2011) and This is England ‘90 (2015).
Most of the film was shot on location in Nottingham, specifically St Ann’s Lenton. The film is set in Grimsby, an abandoned, run-down town in the midlands, despite being filmed in Nottinghamshire.
The film recieved an approval rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics calling it “A moving coming-of-age tale that captures the despair among England’s working class youth in the 1980s”. The film went on to win the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film at the 2007 Brithis Film Academy Awards in 2007 as well as Best Film at the 2006 British Independent Film Awards.
Personal Reaction:
Initially, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this film, I assumed that there are only so many ways a racist can be protracted on-screen and in any case, something that the audience would always oppose. This film effectively worked to change the audiences perspective and blur the lines between what is and is not acceptable, but for only one character. In the case of Combo, the audience are purposefully driven to powerfully dislike him from the moment he is introduced on-screen, but in the case of Shaun, the audience travel with him on his journey, aware of his impressionable and naive soul. To the audience, he is just looking for a place to fit in following the death of his father and abandonment from his peers. For this reason, the bittersweet feeling of watching Shaun find a home for himself amongst such a toxic and dangerous whirlpool of ideology makes the film all the more impactful and memorable.