Young People:

Young people are shown in This Is England to be reckless and irresponsible. At various points throughout the movie, we’re shown the younger characters in the movie making irresponsible or wrong choices, not caring for the consequence of their actions. Examples of this portrayal are how Woody and his gang go to an abandoned housing complex to destroy the building for fun, or how Gadget goes to Combo’s gang purely out of spite, instead of because of his belief in their politics.

Older People:

One of the few times we see characters in This Is England that are older than their early 20’s is when Combo and his gang attend the nationalist rally. This shows that the older generation at the time would’ve cared about the nationalist policies and agreed generally with the anti-middle eastern policies they carried. This racially insensitive stance paints the older generation as being bitter.

Class:

Most of the characters in This Is England are from a lower middle working class background, and the indoor settings they are shown in give us an idea that these lower classes generally have worse living conditions. For example, Shaun lacks real furniture in his room, needing to use a chair as a bedside table, and the paint on his walls is peeling. We can further infer that the living conditions is worse through the actions of each character. Most of the lower class characters shown in the movie show a lack of intelligence, and this portrayal paints the lower classes as being generally less educated than higher ones.

English People:

Much like older people, English people are portrayed as being driven by entitlement, through the nationalist party. The only times we hear England being mentioned in the movie is in tandem with the viewpoints of the nationalist party, showing English people as agreeing with nationalist views.

Asian/Black People:

Every racial minority shown in This Is England becomes a victim to Combo and his gang, and these racial attacks portray Asian and black people as being victims in a 1980’s British society, as the common viewpoint of the time was that they were threats to “usual” society.

Men/Masculinity:

This Is England features toxic masculinity quite strongly, having the first issue of the movie be that Shaun gets bullied for having feminine trousers. Men are portrayed as being excessively aggressive throughout the movie, mainly through Combo. Combo’s irrational and crazed attacks through the latter half of the movie tell us as an audience that masculinity is being portrayed negatively, and as something that leads to most of the “evils” shown in the movie.

Women:

Women take a more submissive role in This Is England, with their plotlines having no agency in the main story of the movie. Although women aren’t directly shown to have agency in the story, Loll acts to portray women as equally as masculine as the main cast of the movie, through her character design and actions towards Combo. Her fearless denial of his love shows that she is a character that can stand up for herself and her skinhead character design helps to roughen up her character, helping subvert typical gender roles for women.

Place:

The Midlands are shown to be grimy and urban in This Is England, with a lot of the external set featuring graffiti or broken down/unmaintained housing. This, combined with the aforementioned internal set design, tells us that The Midlands wasn’t a particularly nice place to live in the 1980’s, as it was unkept and ran by the younger (less responsible) generation.

Mise-En-Scene: At 04:06, we see Shaun waking up and getting ready for school. In this shot we see that the paint on his wall is peeling, and that his “bed-side table” is a chair that he’s stacked items on top of. As this is one of the first shots we see of Shaun, we’re instantly made to believe that Shaun is less fortunate when it comes to money, as his mother can’t afford to properly furnish and decorate his room.

Editing: At 58:50, we see Shaun, Combo, Gadget, Banjo, and Meggy walking together in slo-mo, with the English flag imposed over them. This shot mimics a scene prior, where Shaun is shown walking in the same figuration with his old group, and this shot with the added context of the English flag shows Shaun’s transition to nationalism, through Combo’s mentoring.

Cinematography: At 01:02:50, we see Shaun getting apprehended by the shop owner, ending in the store getting raided by Combo and his gang. During this scene, the camera pans between characters frequently, making the documentary style that the film aims for feel much more realistic, and due to the amount of pans we do, it adds to the franticness of the scene, and throws the audience off when paired with the scenes racist undertones.

Sound: From 00:00, the movie starts with the song “54-46 Was My Number” by Toots And The Maytals, and this ska track paired with the 1980’s broadcast television footage on screen tells the audience about both the topic and time period this movie is set in. Through the song, we can infer that we will be dealing with the 1980’s Skinhead revival, as Ska was one of the genres skinhead culture was based around.

Mise-en-scene: At 03:53, we’re shown Shaun in his bed, within the frame there is an alarm clock, paint which had flaked off of the walls, and most importantly, a framed picture of his dad who served in the army. This is significant throughout the rest of the film as Shaun’s actions are being motivated by his fathers death in the war, wanting to make his death worth something (something, meaning the country and its pride, which Combo and his gang feel strongly about).

Editing: At 25:01, after Shaun gets his skinhead makeover, finally being a part of Woody’s gang, we are shown slow motion shots of the male members of the gang as well as the female members, their shots dissolving together to showcase the parallels. This highlights the sense of unity within the group, regardless of gender.

Cinematography: At 43:38, Combo’s true intentions come into the light – highlighted by the low angle he’s shot at, suggesting power and intimidation – as he gives Woody’s gang a speech about England’s loss of pride (nationalism), and how he wants to change that and make England great again, imposing white supremacist propaganda. This eventually peer pressures a couple of members to join him, specifically Shaun, and this is only the surface of Combo’s power-hungry personality.

Sound: All throughout the film we’re given a range of popular music from that time period, mostly during the first half because Shaun’s social circle spirals as he is exposed to negative influences. An example of this would be when Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’ cover is heard briefly in the first half, a popular song in the 80s, and then shifting to an atmospheric/melancholic score, composed by Ludovico Einaudi. This encapsulates Shaun’s situation, going from dull and mediocre to distressing and traumatic.

Young people

Young people in This Is England is most represented from the gang of Skinheads, they are represented as being ready to fight and make a difference. Apart from the skinheads there is a scene that takes place at a school which shows a bit of bullying from an older boy who is making fun of Shaun’s jeans.

Masculinity

In the film, there is a showing of Shaun’s father who appears not to be alive anymore but it shows how he died in the war fighting for his country showing the typical masculine traits of being strong and powerful. This father figure is soon filled in by Woody who act very paternal to Shaun ( buying him shirts ).

Class

From many scenes in the film, you can see the low income housing being represented and the poverty being are going through. Most of the house being used have low amount of furniture of furniture that looks old, tacky and uncomfortable showing the audience that the people in the film couldn’t afford much.

Place

The location used from the film, like low income housing can create a verisimilitude feeling for the audience as many people have similar experience when living in poverty. There is many derelict, abandoned location showing isolation throughout the town.

Women

Women in the film are being portrayed as being the girlfriends to the main characters such as Kelly. There is the plotline of Shaun asking smell (16) to be his girlfriend, showing that age should be a reason not to date.

Black People

Black People are represented as being the villain and taking English peoples jobs, in many scenes you feel upset and bad for them as they are being accused of many thing when they are also just trying to have life in the UK.

Older People

Older people are being represented as being in a higher class with having more expensive items such as having a nicer car and nicer clothing showing they have had a different upbringing compared to the skinheads.

English People

In the film there is image of Margaret Thatcher, showing the nation and she is represented as being a nasty and unwelcoming conservative, There is image of the English fighting showing them standing of for themselves and fighting for the countries.

Young People

In the film young people are presented as free young adults who can do what ever they want really. In This Is England, young people are shown as searching for identity and dealing with challenges in a tough world. The film captures how their friendships, choices, and experiences shape who they become.

Older People

In the film ‘Older People’ are presented in lots of different ways. With people like Seans mum, the shopkeeper and the school teachers as normal English working class. Although there is then Woodys group and then Combows group who have become in contact with the law and are trying to renew the English dynasty.

Foreign People

People like Milky and the shop keep are discriminated against by Combow’s group for being in their county. They are also presented to have loving family’s like milky says to Combow. I suspect that Combow was jealous of Milky in that situation and quickly turned on him and lost his head.

I have decided to give this film a rating of 8/10 because i felt like this was a very impactful movie as it represents different social groups very well such as the younger and older generation of people living in England at the time of the war that was taking place. I also feel like this movie was great at presenting the nature of Englishmen and how pride can drive people to do horrible things such as murder and many other hate crimes just because some people did not fit the “English” stereotype in the eyes of characters such as Combo.  

In my opinion, the most memorable scene from this film was when Milky was brutally beaten by Combo after trying to stand his ground. In my opinion, this scene was very impactful as it showed Combo’s true colors and what he was capable of but also how he was able to very easily influence a child (Shaun) to join his “gang” and partake in offensive hate crimes towards different races and social groups. This scene was particularly impactful for me as this was the moment Shaun realized what kind of person Combo is and how he made the decision that he does not want to be associated with him anymore.  

Mise-En-Scene

The mise-en-scene is this film is used very effectively to support the tone of the film and to help explain to the audience what is going on in the film and the feelings that the characters are experiencing throughout the film. It also adds to the realism and versimilitude of the film, as this is a period piece. A very evident example of that is, in terms of costume, the skinhead ‘uniform’, which is used throughout the film to convey numerous ideas, such as the bond between the members of the gang. It also shows Shaun’s acceptance into the culture of the skinheads as well as Milky’s pride for his culture, which he has until his final scene in the film, where he is nearly beaten to death by Combo. The use of setting certainly adds to the versimilitude and realism of the film, as most of the film was shot in the real world locations of St Ann’s and Wilsthrope College in Long Eaton, in Nottingham. Also, the use of graffiti adds to realism of the film, showing the political views of people in the area. And in terms of characterization it shows Shaun’s lack of understanding when it comes to racism, as he simply graffitis he own name instead of a racial slur. The sound of the film, especially the soundtrack, and even more specifically the melancholic song by Ludovico Einaudi, conveys to the audience the negative impact that Combo has on Shaun’s life. Also, the use of ska music further reinstates the skinhead movement shown in the film. Finally, the constant radio chatter heard throughout the film keep the parallels between the conflict of the Falkland Wars and Shaun’s life fresh in the viewer’s mind, and show to the viewer why many English were angry at this time and why they were fed up with life, not that it excuses the disgusting behaviour of certain characters in the film.

Editing

Throughout the film, there is a heavy use of montage throughout, the main two examples being the montages of archive footage in the opening scene and the montages showing the different stages of Shaun’s life throughout the film. The first example sets the time period of the film, using lots of pop culture and historical footage from the 80s. Near the end of the montage though, it focuses on the conflict in Falklands War, which is constantly mentioned in the film due to Shaun’s dad dying in it. This invites the spectator to draw ideological parallels between the conflict and the event’s in Shaun’s life. The montages of Shaun show the three main stages in his journey/life as a young kid growing up during these times. The first one features numerous long shots conveying the isolation that Shaun is feeling at this point in his life. The second one has a more upbeat mood, showing footage of him having fun with Woody’s gang to the upbeat sound of ‘Louie Louie’. The final montage is much more serious in tone and it is when Combo is ‘training’ Shaun. The more serious tone matches the much more explicit and realistically depressing content of a young boy committing racist acts to people around him. The three different montages are useful for comparative analysis, as the tone of each one varies dramatically.

Cinematography

The cinematography used throughout the film allows for a more personal connection to the world of the film and to the characters within it. An example would be the handheld camera which is used throughout the film, which contributes to the authentic tone of this social realist film. An interesting use of cinematography, which remains in my mind as being very interesting, is the use of big close up shots, an example being the one used in the conversation between Combo and Shaun. In terms of the characters, this suggests a bond growing between the two of them, but for the audience it allows them to become much more intimate with the characters of Combo and Shaun and this may even be one of the points in the film where the audience likes Shaun, as in this scene he is shown to be somewhat caring towards Shaun, almost being like his father figure. A final example of cinematography that allows the audience to be more intimate with the characters in the scene is the use of POV shots from Milky’s perspective in the assault scene, which not only aligns the audience with him, but it creates greater emotional impact and horror.

Sound

The sound within the film does a multiltude of things within the film. It helps the audience be dropped back in time to the land of the 80s, with ska tracks such as Toots and The Mayals ‘Louie Louie’, which adds to the versimilitude of the film. Another feature of sound, which was previously mentioned, was the use of radio chatter of Margaret Thatcher talking about the Falklands War. This allows the viewer to draw parallels between Shaun’s life and the Falklands war, which he has been greatly affected by, as we know he has lost his father, which could be said is the main reason for his lack of direction in life.

Critical Score: 6/10

This Is England does a great job of capturing a slice of British life in the 1980’s, and while it boasts impressive documentary style cinematography, the shoddy acting and narrative pacing/continuity knocks the movie down significantly. The first 30 minutes act as a highlight for me, as the movie loses steam once Combo is introduced.

Favourite Scene: Shaun’s haircut

This scene is my favourite as it shows the close relationship that has developed between Shaun and Woody. This lays the foundation for Shaun’s “betrayal” very effectively, by showing Woody as a pseudo-father figure to Shaun, playing on all the things we know about Shaun and his personal life in this part of the movie.