This Is England

DVD reviews are on the menu, due to popular demand, this being my first. Get ready for a hot pile of pretentious reviews about obscure films. You asked for it.

This Is England is the story of an English boy, Shaun, growing up in a pissant town during the early eighties. Tired of being picked on, he befriends the first people that are nice to him, namely a group of older local skinheads. Although there are slight allusions to racist tensions within blue-collar England, the film is more implicitly about bullies, cowards, and a kid; the result is a film whose characters act so human (both good and bad) that you feel as though your own head is bald.
The film is largely predictable in mood, but if you're okay with that, then you might find the more subtle narrative closure a pleasant change. I won't go into gross details about the plot, but I will tell you that the film is a pleasant addition to Britain's repetoire of quality productions. The film makes another point that I think needs to be reiterated: skinheads are not necessarily neo-nazi racists, and if you generalize them as such, you're no better than those that are.

Ugly - Because some of the people in this movie are.

Written and directed by Shane Meadows