This Is England

Over Easter there was a British film season on Film 4 and I only managed to catch This Is England.  I have been waiting to watch this film for a while, and I was in the midst of ideas for my British Stamp project so it felt very relevant.

Set in 1983, a 12 year old boy gets mixed up with a gang of Skinheads after his father is killed in the Falklands war.  He spends his summer holiday with them and they soon become like his family.  However he soon gets involved with the drinking, drugs and sex of the older kids, and when the leaders Nazi pal gets out of jail, he unwittingly gets sucked up into a racist, right wing movement, which ends in murder.

This film is a harsh and tear jerking adaptation of Thatcher's Britain and youth sub-culture gangs.  The whole film feels desolate and there is always this sense of impending danger.  There is some great acting from all the cast, especially Shaun the boy.  It succeeds in making you feel like you've been transported back to 80's England, and similar to Billy Elliot, you really feel that sense of desperation and low moral from the community.

I would recommend this film to everyone!