- If you haven't already been to see; This Is England by Shane Meadows, I would urge that you take the opportunity to do so and soon. This film is a powerful representation of 80's Britain (England) revealing how a group of friends get torn apart by racism and focusing on the story of one young lad; Shaun played by Thomas Turgoose, whose dad has been killed out in the Falklands.
Shaun is being bullied at school, is grieving the loss of his father, can't communicate properly with his mother and becomes friends with some local skinheads; Woody played by Joseph Gilgun, Lol played by Vicky McClure and Milky played by Andrew Shim who all take him under their wing and show him a good time. It's important to point out that none of these characters are in any way racist and indeed are from various backgrounds.
There are some very touching scenes where the characters open up and explain their different perspectives. All of which set the scene before things change for the worse with the arrival of Combo played by Stephen Graham. Graham's performance throughout This Is England is both breath-taking and harrowing. I think it fair enough to say that this performance should earn him a few awards further down the line...
So, here we have a UK film from the man behind Dead Man's Shoes (2004) and it's getting censored despite being an educational journey through bullying and racism and how they damage everything in their path. Censors like Sue Clark of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) say it is because of the use of bad language and scenes of violence but venues like; The Watershed Media Centre in Bristol have overthrown this decision and brought the age of viewing down to 15+. To read more about this click here.
I believe the public should be allowed to decide for themselves whether; This Is England should have an 18+ certificate slapped on it because it is an absolute masterpiece in film-making and social commentary. Other great features in; This Is England include the continuity, costumes, settings and superb soundtrack featuring a lot of classic Ska and Reggae tunes that add to the overall authenticity of the piece...
This Is England is in cinemas now...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480025/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2129938/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0318543/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0566049/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0793532/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0334318/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419677/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQD7vd3B5A0
http://www.watershed.co.uk/cgi-bin/WebO ... rshed.woa/
http://www.shanemeadows.co.uk/