This Is England Micro Elements

Sound

The scene at the end when Combo snaps and beats Milky into unconsciousness uses a piano score as the backdrop. Another filmmaker may have decided to include high tempo, energetic, dramatic music behind such a brutal scene, but Meadows instead uses a slow, sombre piano score. This could be to show that this is the biggest emotional low point of the film, and the biggest turning point of all the main characters present: It breaks Combo, it leaves the kind and well meaning Milky a battered unconscious body, and most importantly it disillusions Shaun to Combo’s nationalist rhetoric. The sound also uses pretty heavy sounds for Combo’s punches, making it clear to the viewer that he is really trying to do serious damage to this person who never did anything to him.

Editing

The film starts with this montage of archival footage of 80’s British culture set to ’54 To 46 That’s My Number’ by Toots and the Maytals. It sets the tone of the film well, editing various clips from children’s shows and news footage together to give the audience a feeling of the space the film is set in, showing clips of people at school, music performances, dance exercise videos, Princess Diana etc. What really stood out to me was the short beats at some points in the song being overset by footage of disasters, usually explosion. These parts stood out to me because I liked how the footage synced up to the audio and because I found it funny.

Mise En Scene

This screenshot is taken from the final sequence of the film, where the members of Combo’s gang meet at his apartment for a sort of party, to which Milky also comes. This uses Mise En Scene to show the state at which Combo lives in: a totally empty floor, a sofa and bed pressed against the wall, some pictures stuck to the wall, and a large St. George’s cross flag that Shaun stole across the wall. This tells the audience that Combo is really in a bad economic state and is fairly alone in life.

Cinematography

This shot uses a long shot to show off all the characters and the urban setting. Woody is on one side of the tunnel, the rest of his gang on the other, and Shaun is in the middle, illuminated by the sun before entering the tunnel. The shot has some really nice symmetry that makes it pleasing to look at, and also some potential symbolism, like Shaun being illuminated by sunlight while the skinheads are in shade under the tunnel, showing Shaun’s innocence compared to the harder, rougher lives of the skinheads.