Andrew Shim, Frank Harper, George Newton

It's 1983 and school is out. Twelve-year-old Shaun is a lonely boy growing up in a grim coastal town in northern England, whose father died fighting in the Falklands War. Over the course of the summer...( read more  read more... ) holiday he befriends a group of local skinheads. With his pent-up rage and frustration, Shaun finds exactly what he needs in the gang-mischief, mayhem and brotherhood. He also meets the volatile and boorish Combo, an older skinhead who sees himself in Shaun. Adopting Shaun as his protege, Combo leads the gang down a hate spewing path that culminates in an irreversible act of violence.

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89% liked it

45,072 ratings

Critics

93% liked it

84 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: Shane Meadows

Release Date: July 27, 2007

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DVD Release Date: November 13, 2007

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Stats: 7,915 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (7,915)


  • November 11, 2009
    "Run with the crowd, stand alone, you decide."

    A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on experiences of director ...( read more)Shane Meadows.

    REVIEW

    With his gift for sly naturalistic dialogue, skillful use of music and ability to frame poignant beauty into shots of the everyday, Shane Meadows is arguably the finest film-maker working in England today; and 'This is England' is among his best works, its understated account of ordinary youths just hanging out in the recession of the 1980s perfectly judged. Out of this, a plot develops, based on the growing involvement of the gang in skinhead politics. This transition does feel slightly manufactured, as the story places its characters in a slightly artificial state of innocence and thus depicts racism as something external that descends upon them, rather than as something more innately part of the fabric of their lives. But Meadows shows his customary strength in his depiction of (in some senses) unsavoury human beings with sympathy where appropriate, and where not, still with humanity: at their least edifying, his characters are still 100% human. The acting, meanwhile, from an inexperienced cast, is consistently great. "Low budget" can mean quick and perfunctory; but Meadows makes visual poetry. It's a tragedy that this in itself is apparently sufficient to preclude his wider success.
  • October 2, 2009
    A great British film, gritty and hard hitting and made on a shoe string budget. It doesn't matter the story and acting make this a very powerful film and it deserves all the awards and accolades it has received.
    A young boy bullied at school joins the local skinheads in early 80'...( read more)s Britain, but the fun and games soon start to turn nasty and violent.
  • September 29, 2009
    Shane Meadows is by far ones of the best directors working today. This is a fine film with some great performances and a fantastic story. This should be on the school curriculum!
  • January 26, 2009
    I don't know, it's about everything: . . . suicide, despair, where did our hope go? Lost hope, that's it, lost hope. . . . Yeah, well, you think everything is boring. I mean, you know, you wouldn't say that if it was the Lost Hope Diet.

    The opening quote is not from this mo

    ...( read more)vie. It's from The Big Chill, where Michael is explaining to his People Magazine editor over the phone that he's got a good story line. His editor, obviously, thinks not. There will always be people who lose hope, in any generation, in any country.

    Mahalo, Elliot, for the recommendation. This is a very good movie. I don't know how they found Thomas Turgoose, but he is wonderful as the damaged son who searches for meaning after his father's death. He is one who is saved by a choice for goodness at the end. This is a very dark portrait of England's youth, and of course the title of the film comes from the impassioned speech for hatred delivered under the guise of nationalism. I love the way Shakespeare's St. Crispin Day speech from Henry V is used to color the actual anti-nationalism of these thugs.

    Another lost generation . . . I'm optimistic enough to say that Turgoose's character is not alone in making the choice for tolerance and non-violence. If the odds of that happening in real-world England were the same as in the world of this movie, England would be in a shambles by now. It's definitely not. Many more, like my niece and nephew and their chums in London, have made the choice for love, for peace, for tolerance -- for hope. Yes, there will always be people who have lost hope, but there will always be many more who choose not to do so. This is England.

  • January 23, 2009
    Very provacative
  • November 18, 2009
    Best film? huh( nothing special really
  • October 29, 2009
    If this is England, they do have a problem over there.
  • October 21, 2009
    Fantastic, realalistic and emotional. A fine film from Shane Meadows, living up perfectly to Dead Man's Shoes and A Room For Romeo Brass.

    Shane Meadows has always had a knack for making gritty British films and this one is definitely no exception. In fact, this is by far the g...( read more)rittiest I have seen from him.

    A fantastic cast, playing their roles as if their characters were real people picked right off the streets, portray human emotion with pure realism. No Hollywood overacting to be seen here, just real characters played by real, skillful actors. Thomas Turgoose, only about 13 at the time, plays his character with depth, understanding and detail. For such a young actor, this is amazing. Andrew Shim, who was a fantastic child star in A Room For Romeo Brass as the title character, now plays an older character here. He does so with talent. He truely shines right near the end of the film where his character is given a spotlight in a tense, claustrophobic scene, set in one room in a flat. Stephen Graham is admirable as the neo nazi, racist leading male antagonist. His character is sickening yet, somehow, Graham manages to allow you to feel the slightist bit of sympathy for him in one scene where he confronts an old flame with purely kind intentions. The rest of the cast ar fantastic and all of them together make one of the best ensembles of all time.

    Shane Meadows directs this fantastically, depsite, or maybe because of his low budget. He picks his shots and scenes carefully and makes sure he doesn't ruin it with pretentious Hollywood style. No, for that would not suit the subject matter. Meadows understands what does and employs techniques that compliment his plot, whilst still directing with a kind of disguised grace.

    Overall, This Is England is a captivating, gripping, sickening and deeply emotional film and one of the best British films of all time.
  • October 18, 2009
    A movie about racism, friendship, humanity. Run with the crowd, stand alone, you decide. A simple story but good performances and some nice shots! Worth watching !
  • September 20, 2009
    Emotionally hard hitting and absolutely shocking. The film gets nearly impossible to watch as the characters self-destruct, and the ending really disturbed me.

Critic Reviews


August 10, 2007
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

There's a gutter pride taken in how aggressively Shaun confronts the world, but there's also a blunt, no-nonsense analysis of where the kid goes wrong. full review

August 10, 2007
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie is taut, tense, relentless. It shows why Shaun feels he needs to belong to a gang, what he gets out of it and how it goes wrong. Without saying so, it also explains why skinheads are skinheads. full review

July 25, 2007
Armond White, The New York Press

It's only a half-great film, which is to say that its best moments are more perceptive and powerful than any other movie this summer. full review

July 24, 2007
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

The director's affectionate warts-and-all portrait of his milieu and subculture is blistering, cogently capturing how England's early-'80s skinhead movement was driven less by blind racial intolerance... full review

View more This Is England reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • WrellikW
    July 17, 2008
    This was a good film and I, very much, liked it! The boy did a great job of acting and so did the supporting cast. It was sad to read the ending credits though; poor kid. I loved this movie and everyone should see it!

    Take care all,
    William
    Zzzzzzoooooommmmm!

    "It is easy to be brave, from a distance." -American Indian Proverb-
  • statz
    June 11, 2007
    i thought it was a great film, rele gripping and rele believable proformances
  • scottydgibbs
    May 13, 2007
    a great look at life in the 80s and the thatcher years, and great performances all round, also a great follow up by shane meadows, after dead mans shoes, dident think he could do better

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This Is England Trivia


  • I have been sucked back in time to medieval england from america, i have cut my own hand off, i have been convinced i was elvis living in an old peoples home, i was killed by mad gorillas (this is in 5 films) who am i?  Answer »
  • In what movie can you find this dialogue?: " 'If I do this, we both know that I can never return to England with honor. What, I wonder, shall become of me?''When this war is over, there will be a new, aristocracy. We shall be land owners.' 'Tell me about, Ohio.'"  Answer »
  • I was a psycho in 'This is England' and Turkish's mate in 'Snatch'. Who am i?  Answer »
  • Who directed 'This is England'?  Answer »

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