This is England

Director/Screenwriter: Shane Meadows
Cast: Kieran Hardcastle, Stephen Graham, Thomas Turgoose, Joe Gilgun
Rating: MA15+
Running time: 102 mins

Plot: Shaun (Turgoose), a working-class boy whose father has been killed in the Falklands War, is socially isolated until he falls in with a group of broad-minded skinheads led by Woody (Gilgun). When hardline Combo (Graham) is released from prison and comes looking to recruit Woody and his gang to the ideals of the National Front, Shaun thinks he has found a new way and place to belong in the world.

This partly autobiographical film works as an antidote to nostalgic 80s period pieces. This is the ugly side of Thatcher’s England, thrown into relief by the tragedy of the life of one pre-pubescent boy.

This is what makes this film work so well: while the broader political concerns provide an important backdrop, the story remains intensely personal. We feel for Shaun, and we immediately warm to Woody and his gang. They look frightening, with their tats and skinhead uniforms, but they’re just a bunch of young people who’ve banded together and look after one another — and Shaun — extremely well.

This subculture provides the occasion for some excellent, eccentric make-up and costuming, and one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard outside a Tarantino picture.

It is only when Combo arrives on the scene that we see the darker side of the skinhead scene. Combo is angry, racist, and violent. Graham has a tremendous, intense, and menacing on-screen presence. He and Meadows, however, are clever enough not to allow him to be a monster. His performance is also profoundly touching: we have hints of the difficult life he has led, while Shaun’s youth, passion, and disingenuousness allow Combo the space to be tender and vulnerable.

Surprisingly, Turgoose’s performance shines alongside Graham’s. It is measured and naturalistic — a completely believable portrayal of a boy who is angry and sad, who desperately wants to belong, and who is too young to understand the motives and politics of his mentors.

And as the film progresses, the politics come more clearly to the fore. This is a case study, in a way, of how uneducated and disenfranchised people can be drawn into dangerously jingoistic idealism. Little has changed: today’s politicians still divert attention from problems at home by manufacturing conflicts abroad, and by demonizing various groups in society. In its climactic scene, the film draws attention to the painful irony that white supremacist skinheads drew aspects of their subculture from black Jamaican rudeboys: definitions of ‘the other’ can always be twisted to serve the purposes of the powerful.

The film builds a threatening atmosphere, which lingers hauntingly long after the credits. It is difficult to know how much Meadows is trying simply to provide a period slice-of-life, and how much he wants to warn contemporary viewers about the rise of strong right-wing sentiment. Certainly we’re invited into the drama. Shaun’s story has plenty of loose ends, and we fear for what he’ll become. What rôle will he play in the titular England, and whose England will this be?

Verdict: An intelligent, moving character study with excellent performances. Will make you ask, “What is England?”

A week in movies

I’ve gone a bit beserk this week and seen six films. I’ve decided to do a full-scale review of only one (This is England), partly for the sake of time, and partly because it’s a film I that people might not immediately think of seeing, and yet it’s one of the best films I’ve seen this year. In no particular order, here are the other five:

Die Hard 4.0
Director: Len Wiseman
Cast: Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Maggie Q, Timothy Olyphant

I’m assuming that if you’re going to see this, then you’re familiar with the Die Hard franchise. In that case, you know what you’re going to get. It’s faithful to the feel of the earlier films — wrong place, wrong time for straight-shooting, quip-spitting hard-nut John McClane — but with bigger stunts and more unbelievable use of computers. Fans of stuff blowing up will particularly like a couple of vehicle show-downs: (a) cop car vs helicopter and (b) semi-trailer vs F-35B jet.

In all, a little OTT for me, and a reminder of why the action genre has moved into more intelligent territory since the 80s. Bring on the new Bourne!

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Sicko
Director: Michael Moore
Cast: A bunch of sick Americans, and a lot less of Moore than you might think

Moore’s back-catalogue of docuganda films will probably determine whether you see this or not, but to my mind this is a superior film to his two previous efforts (which, by the way, I loved).

Bowling for Columbine was best when it focused on two of the survivors of the massacre who were still carrying around Walmart’s bullets in their bodies. Farenheit 911 really hit its stride in the latter half, where Moore dropped the wild conspiracy theories and focused on the plight of one woman whose son had been killed in Iraq.

In Sicko, Moore seems to have realized that his work is most powerful when he takes a back seat, and lets others do the talking. Thus this film looks at the lives of a number of Americans who have health insurance but are not cared for. The main point — that it is disgusting that the US healthcare system should be held to ransom by money-hungry insurance agencies — is clearly and compellingly made, even for those who might want to argue that Moore has been very selective in whom he interviews. There is still one indulgent stunt, which you’ll either love or hate: Moore takes some people who were permanently injured in the 9/11 clean-up first to Guantanamo Bay, then to Cuba, in order to get the medical care denied them in the US.

It’s certainly a film to make you thankful for free universal healthcare in this country — and nervous about any moves towards privatization!

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Black Sheep
Director: Jonathan King
Cast: A bunch of Kiwis you’ve never heard of

The concept for this is brilliant: on a farm in New Zealand, some genetically engineered sheep have gone badly wrong, becoming flesh-eating zombie-sheep. When they bite humans, the humans transform into psychotic half-man, half-sheep monsters. In the midst of all this are placed a man who is terrified of (normal) sheep, and a couple of vegan hippies who want to shut down the genetic engineering programme. Throw in special effects by Weta, and all the elements of a classic are right there.

Unfortunately, the film isn’t quite played right. It could have been a natural successor to Bad Taste if the camp-schlock aspect had been ramped up. Otherwise, it could have been played as slightly-off-the-wall-but-seriously-frightening, if the director and actors were up to it.
Regrettably, though, it sits uncomfortably between two chairs. Shame such a great concept was squandered!

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Knocked Up
Director: Judd Apatow
Cast: Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Katherine Heigl

This is not the kind of film I would usually go to see: I can’t stand all the recent gross-out comedies and frat pack fodder — thoroughly yawn-worthy. When I saw the shorts for this film, I assumed it just fit in that category.

What changed my mind, however, was when I heard a positive review from a woman who resembles Penelope Keith in age, appearance, and voice. Clearly this was more than the shorts suggested.

And it is. The film explores some real adult-relationship issues, sort of. How do you deal with losing your independence when you’re a parent? What does it take for this generation to grow up? Are children a strong enough bond to bring/keep a couple together?

But there is nothing hugely insightful here, and the whole film is punctuated with the kind of gross comedy that I just don’t find funny. For example, the male lead and his slacker housemates are building a website called fleshofthestars.com, which lists timecodes for movies where stars get their kit off. Hilarity ensues, etc.

Still, the film seems to have pleased an unusual cross-section of society. Just not so much for me.

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Rogue
Director: Greg McLean
Cast: Radha Mitchell, Michael Vartan, Sam Worthington, Stephen Curry

Don’t let the distribution details for this film put you off. When I saw that it was only playing in a few cinemas, and even then at odd hours (I had the choice of midday or 9.40pm in the city), I thought it must be a dog. But I was too big a fan of Radha Mitchell to let it pass, and besides, I needed to use my cinema cash somehow.

I kept expecting the film to disappoint, but it never did. It follows the genre arc: set-up where we meet the characters, false scares because we know what’s coming, gradual reveal of the monster, final showdown between human and human-eating stars. But it does it well: the actors aren’t hokey, and we care enough about the characters that we don’t really want them to be eaten (mostly); the crocodile is not supernatural — we’re left with the impression that this really could happen; the effects aren’t dodgy; the scares are well staged and well paced so that the tension keeps billowing up until the final showdown. I found the ending a little disappointing, but I suppose it has to be sold in the US. I hope there’s an Australian director’s cut for DVD.

In short, this is simply the best underwater predator film I’ve seen since Jaws. It’s really worth watching!