just watched "This is England"

solee · Post by **solee** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:04 pm

...and it was brilliant. didn't know anything about it, cept for the fact that Warp put it out. the UK in the early 80's seemed pretty rough. was it accurate or not really?

parson · Post by **parson** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:53 pm

brilliant fuckin film

elementalism · Post by **elementalism** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:49 am

The UK's a big place, the skinhead movement wasn't really that big. Casual culture was the big thing during the early 80s, rudeboy/two-tone culture was big too. Depends where you were from, London was a lot different from Leeds and Leeds was a world away from Brighton.

Sick film though, that mixed race bloke had a badboy outfit (no homo).

thomas · Post by **thomas** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 2:16 am

aint seen the film yet, but from what i gather its just about one type of culture.

Voilence is and will always be in the UK, just in different things and places.

emcee child · Post by **emcee child** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:43 am

great flick.
i know bare mates who it reminded of their childhood including myself.. (not the specifics mind you.. just the scenario).

gonna buy it up as soon as it's out on dvd.

auan · Post by **auan** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 5:09 am

Not seen it but some daft tnuc at work has a few scenes of it on his phone. The one in the shop with the machete and the bit where he pulls the guy out the car. This guy is into his izan shit in the wrong kind of way and just totally put me off it. I got into Romper Stomper and American History X, they're challenging but their hearts in the right place, but he made out like This is England was just Paki-stomping fascist bullshit from beginning to end.

Is it good then?

relaks · Post by **relaks** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 6:38 am

It is very, very good.

Best movie I seen for a while

stanton · Post by **stanton** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:23 am

Auan wrote:Not seen it but some daft tnuc at work has a few scenes of it on his phone. The one in the shop with the machete and the bit where he pulls the guy out the car. This guy is into his izan shit in the wrong kind of way and just totally put me off it. I got into Romper Stomper and American History X, they're challenging but their hearts in the right place, but he made out like This is England was just Paki-stomping fascist bullshit from beginning to end.

Is it good then?

It's very different to the other films you mention in that it's not a tale of redemption like American History X. It's loosely about how some skinheads got involved in English nationalism through the BNP and NF. It then goes on some kind of apologist trip showing how the main racist is fucked up because of his dad blah blah blah, lots of crying, didn't mean to beat up the mixed race chap etc etc.
It starts brilliantly, great characters and wonderful acting, when the evil bloke turns up it becomes predictable and you're left thinking 'I know he's gonna snap and beat up the mixed race fella but please please don't let that be the end point of the film'. Unfortunately it is. It's shot really nicely though.

shonky · Post by **shonky** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:53 am

stanton wrote: It's very different to the other films you mention in that it's not a tale of redemption like American History X. It's loosely about how some skinheads got involved in English nationalism through the BNP and NF. It then goes on some kind of apologist trip showing how the main racist is fucked up because of his dad blah blah blah, lots of crying, didn't mean to beat up the mixed race chap etc etc.
It starts brilliantly, great characters and wonderful acting, when the evil bloke turns up it becomes predictable and you're left thinking 'I know he's gonna snap and beat up the mixed race fella but please please don't let that be the end point of the film'. Unfortunately it is. It's shot really nicely though.

Don't think that was apologist business to be honest, that part if anything was to indicate how irrational that guy's prejudices were and how they were more based on projection of his own anger than any real basis

contakt · Post by **contakt** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 8:12 am

Shonky wrote:
stanton wrote: It's very different to the other films you mention in that it's not a tale of redemption like American History X. It's loosely about how some skinheads got involved in English nationalism through the BNP and NF. It then goes on some kind of apologist trip showing how the main racist is fucked up because of his dad blah blah blah, lots of crying, didn't mean to beat up the mixed race chap etc etc.
It starts brilliantly, great characters and wonderful acting, when the evil bloke turns up it becomes predictable and you're left thinking 'I know he's gonna snap and beat up the mixed race fella but please please don't let that be the end point of the film'. Unfortunately it is. It's shot really nicely though.
Don't think that was apologist business to be honest, that part if anything was to indicate how irrational that guy's prejudices were and how they were more based on projection of his own anger than any real basis

I agree with you Shonky. I didn't think it was at all trite. Fatherhood is one of the main themes of the film - it wasn't just crowbarred in to explain the actions of the lead skinhead.

I should also remind those that are reading this thread and haven't seen the film that the skinhead culture started off as a non-racist, racially mixed, musical movement which was unfortunately hijacked by right wing extremists. It is this point in the movement's history that this film picks up on.

Anyway, I thought it was excellent.

geiom · Post by **geiom** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 8:39 am

Thought it was pretty deep in general - the extreme madness of the main bad guy is a bit of a problem though - reduces his credibilty ?

Can't quite see how the little guy (11 yr old ?) manages to get together with that girl who seems to be about 18 (!)

know a lot of the locations well - many scenes shot around Nottingham -

Its not quite that grim up here in real life however...

K

stanton · Post by **stanton** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 8:56 am

I should stop posting on threads about this film and should probably watch it again as I've obviously missed something. The characters just seemed a bit predictable and unexplored to me, you could see what was going to happen in the rest of the film by the time angry skinhead turned up.

dutty yuppie · Post by **dutty yuppie** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 9:00 am

I know where you're coming from Stanton...It was all right, kept me hooked but I didn't ponder it much after.

barclay james · Post by **barclay james** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 9:16 am

I seen this film about 7 times now.. baad film.. shane meadows smacked it once again..

shonky · Post by **shonky** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 9:58 am

geiom wrote:Thought it was pretty deep in general - the extreme madness of the main bad guy is a bit of a problem though - reduces his credibilty ?

To be honest, I think people that need to hate others that much generally aren't that well balanced so that seemed quite convincing to me. Most people that I've met who I'd say are "casually" racist generally realise that there's little ground to their prejudice when it's discussed

It's when you get all this white supremacist, paranoid and delusional thinking that the problems arise

Tombones · Post by **Tombones** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 10:06 am

its supposed to be semi autobiographical, hence the kid is called Shane. apparently the lad that played Shane had never acted before, was never even picked for the school play.
I watched it with a mate who was in his late teens during the early eighties and he seemed to think it was pretty realistic.
lol check out shane's mum's perm. I remember enough mum's with those dodgy perms coming to pick me mates up from primary school.

stanton · Post by **stanton** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 10:13 am

thecrane wrote:its supposed to be semi autobiographical, hence the kid is called Shane. apparently the lad that played Shane had never acted before, was never even picked for the school play.
I watched it with a mate who was in his late teens during the early eighties and he seemed to think it was pretty realistic.
lol check out shane's mum's perm. I remember enough mum's with those dodgy perms coming to pick me mates up from primary school.

He's from Grimsby, my sister went to school with his sister I think. Wicked actor.

barclay james · Post by **barclay james** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 10:43 am

thecrane wrote:its supposed to be semi autobiographical, hence the kid is called Shane. apparently the lad that played Shane had never acted before, was never even picked for the school play.
I watched it with a mate who was in his late teens during the early eighties and he seemed to think it was pretty realistic.
lol check out shane's mum's perm. I remember enough mum's with those dodgy perms coming to pick me mates up from primary school.

the kid in the film was called shaun not shane..

Tombones · Post by **Tombones** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:25 pm

Barclay James wrote:
thecrane wrote:its supposed to be semi autobiographical, hence the kid is called Shane. apparently the lad that played Shane had never acted before, was never even picked for the school play.
I watched it with a mate who was in his late teens during the early eighties and he seemed to think it was pretty realistic.
lol check out shane's mum's perm. I remember enough mum's with those dodgy perms coming to pick me mates up from primary school.
the kid in the film was called shaun not shane..

lol you're right, but it is supposed to be based on the the director's experiences as a kid

barclay james · Post by **barclay james** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:09 pm

probably.. a lot of his films are based on experiences he had when he was younger.. and people that he knew.. thats probably why there all quite good.. he sticks to what he knows and doesn't try make films about dinosaurs.

just watched "This is England"

just watched "This is England"

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