Initial score: 4.5/10

Shane Meadows, 27/04/07 (release date)

In my opinion, the film wasn’t that great and the only reason I’m giving it a 4.5 and not a 4 is because the dialogue alone was hilarious – intentional or not. I enjoyed the news clips and montages which indicated the time period, such as clips of Princess Diana’s wedding. I didn’t enjoy the score because it didn’t blend well with the scenes, making it hard to take anything seriously.

My favourite sequence in the film is when Shaun first goes into the corner shop, Sandhu’s News, and is reading through a comic book which he hasn’t purchased yet, obviously the shopkeeper doesn’t like this so he asks Shaun repeatedly to leave, which leads up to the funniest piece of dialogue in this film. “Cola Cubes.” And again. “Cola Cubes.” The delivery from Thomas Turgoose adds to the comedic feel of this sequence.

Rating Scale – 8

I really enjoyed this movie as you had to really listen to what was being said and what was happening. I enjoyed seeing all the camera work and dialogue even though there wasn’t much cinematography, it was a great movie. This is England is an extremely grotty and wretched movie. this is a lot of violence and blood and as I’ve said before I don’t condone any of those as it is disgusting but other than that I was entertained by this movie.

My most memorable moment was when Shaun threw the England flag into the sea. I believe that this was a detrimental scene that finished off the movie. After all that happened, all of the events that lead up to Milky’s almost death after he was beaten up by Combo. You could see that anger on Shaun’s face as he walked down. It was a moment of realisation.

This Is England (2006)
Dir. Shane Meadows

7.5/10 – I really enjoyed this film and how it portrayed the time it was set in, especially when hearing about it a lot from my dad. While the themes were heavy and quite nasty at times, it implemented some comedy in nice ways, especially when Shaun was hanging around Woody and his friends. The music was also a highlight for me, because soul, reggae and blues are some of my favourite genres.

The most memorable scene in This Is England for me was when Combo was trying to convince Woody and his friends to ‘join him’ after spewing all of his white supremacist and nationalist ideas to them. This really marks a turning point in the film; Shaun goes from trying to fit in with Woody, to following Combo instead. I think that this scene also shows how children can be really impressionable, because Combo speaks about Shaun’s dad in a really compassionate way.

Shane Meadows (2007)

Critical score: 9/10

The film was engaging and funny, while still focusing on more heavy topics such as racism and bullying. The film was unique compared to other films I’ve watched. It used scenes of violence and strong language without seeming unnecessary as it fit both the plot and characters well, the film had high verisimilitude at it was quite autobiographic to the directors upbringing so the audience saw a clear and accurate representation of England and young people in 1983 due to the use of real news clippings.

Stand out scene:

The closing scene of the film stands out to me as it shows Shaun throwing his England flag that Combo had given him into the sea, this is significant as it shows Shaun’s exit of his gang and how his beliefs have changed.

First Response

Director- Shane Meadows

I rate This Is England a 7/10. I rated it a 7 as I though the acting from the actors and actresses was very good. I thought the location of the film showed a true and verisimilitude feeling for many of the audience. I though the soundtrack and the music used really enhanced many of the scene as well

For me my favourite scene was when Shaun was trying to fit in with Woody and his gang by getting the correct shoes, haircut and trouser. I really liked it when Woody surprised Shaun by getting him the shirt so Shaun could fit in. This showed that Woody had a fatherly aspect to him and it showed the kindness he had towards Shaun and how he wanted to be there for Shaun in a father way.