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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

This Is England

EMAILPRINTIFC Films

This Is England reviews
86
7.4 User Score:

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)

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...

100

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.

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100

San Francisco Chronicle David Wiegand

The script and direction are virtually flawless.

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100

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.

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100

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Masterfully charted and acted.

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91

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

Taut, tense, and self-consciously stylish.

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90

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.”

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90

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.

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90

Newsweek David Ansen

It has the feel of a classic coming-of-age story. It's the sleeper of the summer.

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90

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

The result is a film marked by eruptions of brutal violence, but also passages of extraordinary tenderness.

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88

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter

Authentic, fresh and utterly relevant.

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88

Chicago Tribune Sid Smith

A small film that packs a big wallop.

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88

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.

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88

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.

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83

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.

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80

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.

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78

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.

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75

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Sad, menacing, empathetic story.

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75

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.

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75

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.

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75

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.

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75

ReelViews James Berardinelli

In addition to telling an involving story, This Is England is insightful and informative.

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70

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.

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60

Village Voice Nathan Lee

Facile pop psychology is the real tragedy here, a double disappointment given the film's smart take on pop culture.

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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.

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