This Is England (2006)

This Is England: Directed by Shane Meadows. With Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley, Andrew Shim. A young boy becomes friends with a gang of skinheads. Friends soon become like family, and relationships will be pushed to the very limit.

“There is no doubt that this film is a truly great piece of film-making. Shane Meadows crafts films in the same style as Martin Scorcese. We are given a glimpse into the lifestyle of a group of characters over a short period of time. It is very much a fly on the wall type of movie. The point of these films is to understand the actions of the characters rather than judging their actions. I have no doubt that there will be some people that tag this film as being racist which is rather missing the point.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film follows Shaun a 12 year old being borough up in early 80u0026#39;s England. He has lost his father in the Falklands war and suffers bullying and isolation until he is befriended by a group of skinheads. The happy band are challenged when Combo is released from prison. Thomas Turgoose is magnificent in the lead role and the direction/screenplay are also spot on the mark. For anybody that lived through the period there are lots of reminders about the period. The film is based on Meadowu0026#39;s own childhood and is quite mesmerising at times.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI was gripped throughout the film and it also gave me plenty to think about afterwards. What more can you ask for when going to the movies? I suppose if you go to the movies for escapism then go watch something else, but if you want a gripping thought provoking drama then it doesnu0026#39;t come much better than this. Outstanding!”