What’s this about England?

This is England.

This is England

Chances are, you haven’t heard of this film, or the director, Shane Meadows. Mostly (British) people remember another film of his, Dead Man’s Shoes, which I just might write another short review about. So maybe this time I could recommend you a film that you haven’t heard about. Go on, see for yourself. I’ve heard people say the actors in this one are like carved out of a tree, but I strongly disagree, and so do lots of other people. I’m not English though so I might miss out some issues about their acting. Mind you, if you are American or from elsewhere outside Britain, you’ll pretty much miss it too, not in a bad way at all of course. And you can still decide whether you like their acting or not. I do.

I thought it’s brilliant. Marvellous cast. Thomas Turgoose is simply amazing, and he doesn’t let Stephen Graham steal the show. And he gets to do some cool stuff. But Stephen does put on a great show too.

Everything about the film looks so authentic, the cinematograhy, and some of the stock footage just captures the mood of the film and the time the film is set in. The way Shane is used to delivering sense of realism, or naturalism, is so gripping that you feel you’ve gone back in time. It’s a different world.

I don’t want to touch the story of the film too much, but I suppose it would help if you had an idea about what was going on in England at the time, or a thing or two about skinheads. There seems to be a bit of confusion among viewers about what skinheads (then) were all about. Or what being a skinhead back then was about. Times change, you see.

Or you can have a different kind of movie night and watch Romper Stomper. If you liked the style of Romper Stomper, you might find some of the skins in this one a bit soft… I hope that’s not too much of a spoiler… Or if you don’t fancy the whole Englishness of it, go for American History X – it’s not the same thing and while it’s a good movie too, you’d be missing out on something.

Fuckin’ brilliant.

Back to Manderley…

I don’t think I can say anything new about a classic from 1940, but I just thought it’d be a good idea to remind everyone that when all the new films suck, you can always find something else…. Yes, it’s old. And don’t let the poster fool you, it’s black and white too! Maybe that’s just how Hitchcock liked it, he could have done it in color I guess. But then again, what if he did Psycho in color.

Rebecca

Brilliant story, great cast who make sure there’s always a lot of tension on the screen. Some characters tend to steal the show a bit occasionally though. And quite a few unexpected endings… Which suits the director I guess.Or the producer…

A one and a two and a three…is a crowd.

Is it a drama? Is it a musical? Is it a romantic flick…. no… its… its… well, I wouldn’t want to put it in a certain locker. It has all of the above, and a pint of the ol’ Iris’ charm. So we have the guy from Commitments (that’s what the marketing guy told us at least), and a gal we haven’t really seen before – that’s nice. They’re both good. Images are exactly what you’t expect from a small budget indie film – traditional, that is. And I liked em. It’s undisputedly film. Grains’n all.

Don’t you just feel at least a little discomfort, when in a musical everyone suddenly burst into a song? I do. Except in South Park the movie of course. Well, here it doesn’t happen, not the feeling of discomfort nor the bursting in to a street wide choir. The songs fit seamlessly into the film. A word of warning to those whom do not enjoy the Ryan Adamish, man-and-a-guitar type ‘woolen sweater-pop-rock’. That is what this film is about. And about making decisions and finding your place and a place for your heart. It’s a feel good movie, but why are you feeling good? Go see, and take your significant other with you and ask her.