This Is England

This Is England **1/2

Directed by Shane Meadows
Written by Shane Meadows

Starring:
Thomas Turgoose as Shaun
Stephen Graham as Combo
Jo Hartley as Cynthia Fields
Andrew Shim as Milky
Vicky McClure as Lol
Joseph Gilgun as Woody
Perry Benson as Meggy
George Newton as Banjo
Frank Harper as Lenny
Jack O'Connell as Pukey Nicholls
Kieran Hardcastle as Kez

100 Minutes(Not Rated-Language, Sex, Violence)
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It pained me that I am not giving "This Is England" a recommendation rating, because it is two thirds of a good movie. It headlined by a young man named Thomas Turgoose, who is only fifteen years old and packed a performance with so much punch that he was a winner every time he was on-screen, and that was a painfully bad metaphor. And this kid is really amazing, and throughout the sometimes unfocused screenplay he is always there to be great and provide the movie with the heart that writer/director Shane Meadows fails to do with his words. And as a follow up to the last film that I saw his make-the great "Dead Man's Shoes" from last year-"This Is England" is somewhat of a messy affair, both literally and accidentally.

Having missed it at last years Tribeca Film Festival, where I passed it by because I wanted to see the odd "In the Land of Merry Misfits," "This Is England" received an opening thanks to IFC. Thomas Turgoose plays Shaun, a young boy living in England in the mid-80's. His father was killed in the war, and it is a sore and sensitive subject to the young man, who lives with his very caring and kind mother. When he is bullied at school because of the clothing he wears, Shaun ends up finding solace in a group of good skinheads that hang out under a tunnel-Woody, his girlfriend Lol, their friend Milky, among others. They accept him in their little group, and he shaves his head and gets their clothing and begins to go out with them as they destroy old houses. And then Woody is visited by one of his old friends who got out of prisoner, Combo-who could be defined as a "bad skinhead' I guess-at least in context with the film. And there is a civil break between Combo and his group-who are more like nationalist English people-murderous, angry, racist and extremely bitter. And Shaun is forced to choose now-which is the better way to go?

"This Is England" doesn't follow Shaun through his choice as a political battle. He is far too young to be concerned with the political aspects of anything. To Shaun, politics begin and end with the death of his father-the war is bad because of the way his father was killed. These people are bad because they killed his father. It's that simple. To Shaun, the choice is more of a social and personal battle. Shaun just wants to be accepted. He wants friends, something that he can't get at school because they are always bullying him. He will go where people like him, regardless of what they are doing or what they stand for. And the young Turgoose plays this so well, and I could see the character getting messed up in the hands of somebody not nearly as talented or mature. He is sweet and innocent, and at the same time brutal and mean-but only when he is forced to be to gain acceptance. But you always see that good nature in him-if it is just when he is talking to his mother, or even when he is talking to the one girl that he fancies-the wonderfully named Smell. He is the best part of this movie, hands-down.

But the screenplay lacks a certain focus, and at times it drifts into this additive scenes that just did not give anything to the overall film. A mentioned love sub-plot between Combo and Lol is one of them-it just really wasn't needed unless they wanted to give Combo a more human side, but it just seemed so contrived and forced. When the film doesn't follow Shaun it makes its biggest mistakes, and it does this far too often that it should. And then ending-oh jeez the final few minutes where they really try to tug at your heartstrings. I knew something along those lines would happen, but I didn't want it too, and when it did I just groaned a little bit. I will commend Meadows for doing a good job in the directors chair, really giving it an 80's feeling, with both the gritty look as well as the kickin' soundtrack, which is something amazing. "This Is England" is a near miss, but should be seen to discover Thomas Turgoose who is certainly going to be big if he churns them out at this rate.

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