This Is England
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Metascore
86 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 23 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 79 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Starring: Jo Hartley, Stephen Graham, Thomas Turgoose
  • Summary: 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)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: David Wiegand
    100
    The script and direction are virtually flawless.
  2. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    100
    As its title implies, This Is England isn't a hyperstylized head-trip a la "Trainspotting" but a straightforward calling to account.
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    80
    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.
  4. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Nathan Lee
    60
    Facile pop psychology is the real tragedy here, a double disappointment given the film's smart take on pop culture.

See all 23 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 40
  3. Negative: 4 out of 40
  1. OllieL.
    10
    Totally amazing and influential.
  2. rotku
    8
    Gritty but believable and the characters are superbly acted. A true sense of what growing up in the miserable era of the early eighties was like. The concept has been done a million times over but rarely with this much aplomb.… Expand
  3. Nesbitt10
    7
    What makes this semi-autobiographical film so powerful is the impressive, compassionate performances by Thomas Turgoose and Stephen Graham. Set in the 1980's, a troubled and lonely boy Shaun (Turgoose), encounters a group of skinheads on the way home from school one day and quickly they become friends. Fine film making and incorporating historical footage to create the ambience in England by Shane Meadows. Comparable to other films like American History X or Romper Stomper.… Expand
  4. [Anonymous]
    4
    Manichean and disappointing.

See all 40 User Reviews

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