Shane Meadows
This Is England

"This Is England" is one of those titles that quickly vanished from the minds of many film enthusiasts. And this partly motivated me to talk about it, just to spark the curiosity of someone who, for their own reasons, missed it, especially since finding it only on DVD is practically a feat. Year 1983. Midlands, England, in the height of the Thatcher era. Shaun is a twelve-year-old boy who lost his father during the Falklands war and is constantly mocked by his peers, primarily for his shyness. One day, by pure chance, he stumbles upon a small gang, where Shaun will finally find his company of trusted friends. But the friendship with this gang will be turned upside down by the encounter with Combo, an old leader of the same gang who has just been released from prison. During his time behind bars, he encountered a group of right-wing skinheads, who converted his ideas towards a nationalist and racist direction. When the time comes to split up, Shaun will make a decision that will influence his own destiny.

"This Is England" is a film that, although forgotten by many, was actually quite successful at the time, especially in terms of critical acclaim. It's a film that manages to be as hard as a rock, yet sweet like a caress. Addressing the subject of political ideology influencing the mindset of an individual and dragging it headlong into one's personal life, especially in relationships, is a theme that could have become excessively moralistic and sentimental if directed by a filmmaker, even one as massive as Steven Spielberg. What does the English director Meadows choose to do in one of his most inspired films? He eliminates all kinds of sentimentality. The characters are victims and at the same time perpetrators of their actions. I focus primarily on the characters of the story: Shawn is a wonderful character, both as written and performed (the actor was only 13 at the time), a fragile child living in the discomfort of losing his father and the relationship with his mother who holds him back for everything, but who is capable of snapping and becoming violent as soon as the Falklands are mentioned, thus quite an easy prey to manipulate according to the classic extremist thought based on racism and violence. Combo is the role of Stephen Graham's life, a talented actor who has worked with directors of the caliber of Guy Ritchie and Martin Scorsese (appearing in "The Irishman" in a must-see role). Combo is the representation of the victim who becomes a champion and bearer exclusively of violence, driven by an unstoppable sense of duty to take revenge on the so-called "minor race" according to his principles: a bully, destructive, arrogant, and violent man, but at the same time a desperate failure, both in life and in love; the car scene is one of the most touching moments, where the character's most intimate and fragile nature leaps out suddenly, hitting us straight in the face, leaving the viewer confused in feeling compassion for a character depicted in the film as everything but positive. And the more the film goes on, the more you can understand why Combo is a victim of his own society, starting from where true violence is born in an embryonic stage, namely the domestic reality. The interesting side characters, especially those involved in Combo's plan; each of them represents a different thought on the consequences that the idea of Nazi-fascism causes.

The film has a story that moves and captivates, enriched by the soundtrack of Ludovico Einaudi, which replaces words with music, which, if too present in certain scenes, would have ruined the dramatic atmosphere of the film itself, pushing it towards a more fictional perspective. Something that fortunately does not happen. There are also funny moments that briefly break the heaviness of some sequences, and even there, the irony feels believable, within characters in whom we can all see ourselves in their apparent simplicity. Among the best sequences is the Pakistani market scene, chilling in its cruelty, the encounter with the skinheads in a country house, up to the finale which, without giving spoilers, becomes a summary of the film itself: a real gut punch, which at the same time, to the melody of "Please Please Let Me Get What I Want," a cover by the great Smiths, lulls us into a sweet and bitter atmosphere simultaneously.

"This Is England" is all this and more. A small, underrated gem, with great credible characters, actors in peak form, and a beautiful soundtrack. A film that recreates a youth gang reality akin to "Trainspotting" (the protagonist Woody in some ways seems almost a spitting image of Renton) but instead of getting high on heroin, they want to change the world starting with their ideals. It entertains, but more importantly, it makes one think, and for me, the power of cinema starts from these small but important concepts, and "This Is England" wins on all fronts. I finally recommend checking out the series, with the protagonist grown up; not as exceptional as the film but unmissable for those who loved this wonderful motion picture, together with "American History X" one of the best films about skinheads ever made.