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This Is England
Universal acclaim
Based on 23 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 49 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Shane Meadows
Directed by: Shane Meadows
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 27, 2007
DVD: November 13, 2007
Running Time: 100 minutes, Color
Origin: UK
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley, Andrew Shim, Vicky McClure, Joseph Gilgun, Perry Benson, and George Newton
It's 1983, 12-year-old Shaun is an isolated lad growing up in a grim coastal town, whose father has died fighting in the Falklands war. He finds fresh males role models when those in the local skinhead scene take him in. Here he meets Combo, an older, racist skinhead who has recently got out of prison. As Combo's gang harass the local ethnic minorities, the course is set for a rite of passage that will hurl Shaun from innocence to experience. (IFC Films)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
One of the year's best movies...It's one of the simplest and best re-creations of downscale urban England during the gritty post-punk years ever put on screen, and it's both upsetting and very funny.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle David Wiegand
The script and direction are virtually flawless.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
As its title implies, This Is England isn't a hyperstylized head-trip a la "Trainspotting" but a straightforward calling to account.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
A modest, near-flawless gem, This Is England is the fifth feature by the young British director Shane Meadows, doing his best work since he first hit the festival scene in the mid-1990s with his hilarious, raw-hewn shorts “Small Time.”
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust
The writer-director brilliantly juxtaposes the personal and the political, bookending a stirring coming-of-age drama with the provocative opening and an equally affecting end sequence.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
It has the feel of a classic coming-of-age story. It's the sleeper of the summer.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Scott Foundas
The result is a film marked by eruptions of brutal violence, but also passages of extraordinary tenderness.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter
Authentic, fresh and utterly relevant.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
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.
Read Full Review >Premiere Eric Alt
This Is England may be best summed up as a "coming-of-age" story that puts aside the clichéd baggage often carried by the description and ultimately ends up being moving, genuinely funny, thought-provoking, and highly recommended.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
It's a remarkably sure-handed film, taking us with Shaun on a journey through alienation, anger, trepidation, ebullience and fear.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
This Is England, set in the social dystopia of Margaret Thatcher's Great Britain, gives us something far more humane and complex than a culturally specific memoir about Doc Martens shoes, reggae music and mindless aggression.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman
Somewhere between the pop jouissance of Guy Ritchie and the social realism of Ken Loach, this ballsy drama freeze-frames bleak Thatcherite Yorkshire and exposes its racist underbelly.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Turgoose, in his first film role, is entirely convincing as the strong-willed but naïve Shaun, and Graham is a genuine fright as the feral prototype of the violent skinhead culture on the horizon.
Read Full Review >New York Post V.A. Musetto
The 34-year-old Meadows has assembled an effective cast, especially newcomer Thomas Turgoose as Shaun and veteran Stephen Graham as Combo.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
British director Shane Meadows' strongest film to date is also his most personal: A stylish fictionalization of his own wayward youth, spent among a group of working-class skinheads in Thatcher's England.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
In addition to telling an involving story, This Is England is insightful and informative.
Read Full Review >Variety Leslie Felperin
With its knockout lead perfs and taut if slightly familiar construction, this '80s-set dramedy about a skinhead gang reps Meadows' most fluently made film so far.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Nathan Lee
Facile pop psychology is the real tragedy here, a double disappointment given the film's smart take on pop culture.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 49 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
ela b gave it a9:
British cinema, though underrated, is going from strength to strength. This is hard-hitting, thought-provoking and even occasionally funny. Thomas Turgoose isn't your typical English child actor, he doesn't have a RP accent or look seven years younger than his real age, but unlike the Freddie Highmores of the film industry he has a raw, convincing acting style. This is England is fairly short but still packs a brutal punch. Great acting, great script, Meadows obviously has a great understanding of the era and the film shows that skinheads did not start of as racists but divided. The film is very real with people acting in a real style with real accents. So please, people instead of whatever Hollywood drivel is out on DVD, rent This is England.
Damian C. gave it an8:
A fascinating little slice of life film boasting an excellent script, alternately touching and powerful performances which accurately depicts real people in Thatcher's working class England rather than stereotyped versions of same. While the young Shaun is utterly believable, it's the fury and frustration of Combo that steals scenes, exemplified in Milky's reaction to his racist epithets. Highly recommended.
Ollie L. gave it a10:
Totally amazing and influential.
Pedro P. gave it a6:
A movie with a very thin history and horribly quick and superficial ending, still better that hollowood ones but disapointing given the high score that it has here in metacritic.
bovva boy gave it an8:
Tupac S..It doesnt make sense to you because you dont know what real skinheads are.You only know the so called modern day skins.In the uk skins derived from the mods and the rude boys (jamaican blacks) and were NOT against blacks.The confusion probably comes from the so called paki (pakistani) bashing which both the blacks and skins both did. Quote..."These kids were the first skinheads. With shorter cropped hair than the mods(for convenience in street fights) and passions that included football, reggae, and working class values, skinheads were the perfect hybrid of the two groups. A skinhead did not take shit from anyone, they stood firm on their stance on racial unity and working class pride."You live and learn eh?
Josh gave it a10:
Great Movie. Probably one of my most favorite movies and I watch a lot of movies. The script is well-written, the acting, especially that of thomas turgoose, is phenomenal. The film is directed beautifully portraying remarkable poignancy and a great story.
Jim T. gave it a9:
Great film. A stylish piece of pop culture, political commentary and coming of age calling-to-account. It felt like a very personal rendition of events and for those who didn't / haven't lived through 15% unemployment I can see how it doesnt travel particularly well. A solid 9.
