To be an Englishman
As the Northern Monkey, I very much enjoyed watching This is England last night on Film Four.
I particularly enjoyed the scene in the shoe shop, where the idea that these boots had come from London was of great prestige - that place often talked about, never visited. Things have moved on a bit since the 80s in which the film was set - we do now occasionally visit the big smoke, so know the idea of anything special coming from down there is a daft idea.
I also liked the way that the shop assistant addressed Shaun’s (main character) mother as “Mum”. I did that not so long ago on a St John duty (”Can I just have a word with you please Mum?”), so am left wondering if it is a Northern thing or of some Southern Pansies do it also?
Anyway, enough about Northern roots - the film. BAFTA Best British Film 2008, it is a very emotive film by Director and Writer Shane Meadows. No point in writing my own synopsis when Film Four’s own does the job perfectly:
Twelve-year-old Shaun hooks up with a bunch of fun-loving skinheads during the long hot summer of 1983, until the spectre of racism drives the group apart. Shane Meadows’ most personal film to date.
At 12-years-old, and young-looking even for his age, Shaun Fields (Turgoose) looks hardly capable of breaking and entering a boiled egg. As elder skinhead Combo (Graham) jokes, he looks like “he came out of a box, like an Action Man, or Barbie doll”. Shaun’s loss of innocence is at the heart of Shane Meadows’ most autobiographical work to date (notice how ‘Shaun Fields’ deliberately echoes ‘Shane Meadows’), along with ever-relevant subjects like absent and surrogate fathers, Western imperialism and white working-class marginalisation, particularly in the post-industrial suburbs.
Unintentionally, it’s very easy to draw parallels with the 21st Century in which we currently live.
Shaun lost his father in the Falkland’s war, and this made him very vulnerable. Perhaps particularly receptive to the ideas of the National Front, and easily persuaded that their cause was Nationalism, not Racism. The BNP are the next generation of the NF, how many people are supporting them as a result of a deep personal dissatisfaction with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq?
Immigration is, once again, high on the agenda. The phrase “Coming over here, taking our jobs” could easily have been said in the film, just as it is today.
The political climate in 1983 was a productive breeding ground for the National Front, and This is England showed - dramatically - the effect such beliefs can have. I dare venture that the present political climate isn’t that far removed from 25 years ago.
As a film review - I rarely say much for fear of spoilers, but it comes with Asp’s high recommendations - a deeply emotive British drama, the style of independent film that we do exceptionally well, and this was no exception. It made me think, about the issues of the day, which is what a good film should do.
~Asp
