This Is England

Director: Shane Meadows Producer: Mark Herbert Production Companies: Warp Films, Film4 Productions Distribution: Optimum Releasing Budget: £1.5 million Box Office: £5 million

Plot The movie centers around a gang of 'skin heads' and follows a 12 year old boy's journey into the gang, however when the gangs leader 'Combo' returns from prison, the group splits into two. Combo's gang becomes increasingly violent and antagonistic due to Combo's racist and nationalistic views. The group attends a 'National Front' meeting and harass Mr Sandhu, a Pakistani shopkeeper who had previously banned Shaun from his shop. When another member of Combo's group 'Pukey' expresses doubt over their racist and nationalistic politics, Combo throws him out of his group and sends him back to 'Woody' who essentially leads the other half of their gang.   Combo becomes depressed after 'Lol', Woody's girlfriend, rejects him when he admits that he has loved her since they had sex years before. To console himself, Combo buys cannabis from Milky, the only black skinhead in Woody's gang. During a party, Combo and Milky bond while intoxicated, but Combo becomes increasingly bitter and envious when Milky shares details of his many relatives, comfortable family life and happy upbringing, everything that Combo lacked. Enraged, Combo enters a frenzied state and brutally beats Milky unconscious.  Horrified at the realization of what he has done, a remorseful Combo weeps over Milky. Shaun and Combo later take Milky to a nearby hospital.  The film cuts forward to Shaun, who is in his bedroom looking at a picture of his dad who died in the Falklands conflict. He is contemplating the incident and brooding about what happened, with his mother Cynthia assuring him that Milky will be all right. Shaun is then shown walking near the beach and throwing his St George's Flag, a gift from Combo, into the sea.

Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXDNsPRTANw

Cast A lot of the cast was virtually unknown before the movie which went onto become their debut film before each of their own rising careers. Turgoose was 13 at the time of filming. He had never acted before, was banned from his school play for bad behavior, and demanded £5 to turn up for the film's auditions. Some of the stars however had successful roles before the movie such as Stephen Graham in ‘Snatch’ and Joseph Gilgun In British TV shows like ‘Coronation Street’ Thomas Turgoose as Shaun Fields Stephen Graham as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne Jo Hartley as Cynthia Fields Joseph Gilgun as Woody Vicky McClure as Lol Jenkins Andrew Shim as Michael "Milky" Rosamund Hanson as Michelle "Smell" Andrew Ellis as Gadget Perry Benson as Meggy George Newton as Banjo

Setting The film is set in an unidentified town in the Midlands. In the 1980s.Although much of the film was shot on location in Nottingham, a number of scenes portray the town's docks, which precludes this inland city being the setting for the action. Similarly, the dialects of the main characters are drawn from a wide geographical area.

Production Much of the film was shot in residential areas of Nottingham, including St Ann's, Lenton, and The Meadows, with one section featuring abandoned houses at RAF Newton, a former airbase close to Bingham, Nottinghamshire.  The opening fight was filmed at Wilsthorpe Business and Enterprise College, a secondary school in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, close to the Nottinghamshre/Derbyshire boundary. Additional scenes such as "the docks" were filmed in Grimsby  

Independent film characteristics 'This is England' falls under the genre of social realism.  The movie accurately presents social issues present in the 1980s, such as racism, nationalism and the Falklands War. It also displays the violence and lifestyle of living in a working class area of the UK such as estates and council housing along with youth culture and coming of age. It openly shows violence, drug use and alcohol. It is a low budget film which received a lot of critical response and a large box office compared to the money spent on the film.  All effects and extra scenes were added to the film post production, hand held cameras used in some scenes to present a feeling of realism.  Other than music no non diegetic  is added to the film, creating periods of silence which again presents a feeling of realism  Derogatory swearing and racial slurs are present throughout the film to reflect on the social issues of England in the 80s Filmed on location of real towns and estates rather than a studio 

Awards