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?”