Released 10 years ago in 2006, Shane Meadows' This Is England remains a beloved British classic. The film, which stars Stephen Graham as a menacing, racist skinhead, is still a huge part of the British cultural zeitgeist.
A Cult Classic Born
The film follows young Shaun Fields (Thomas Turgoose in his first film role), a grieving child whose father was killed in the Falklands War. Alienated at school and living with his grieving mother, Shaun falls in with a group of older skinheads. Initially, his mother is worried, but upon meeting the group's ringleader, Woody (Joe Gilgun), she sees they are not the racist, violent skinheads she had heard about, but rather a loveable group of misfits.
However, the dynamic changes when Combo (Stephen Graham) arrives, fresh from prison and determined to steer the group toward his racist nationalist views. Graham's performance is one of his most memorable and terrifying.
Critical Acclaim
The film holds a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers calling it “poignant”, “painful”, and “thought-provoking”. A 2007 review by Bruce Westbrook from the Houston Chronicle reads: “A drama that's so potent and persuasive yet also natural and intimate that it almost has the heft of a documentary.”
Jennie Punter from the Globe and Mail wrote in 2007: “You wouldn't think a film about a group of British skinheads during the early 1980s could be a sweet, nostalgic coming-of-age period piece, but that's the surprise of the authentic, fresh and utterly relevant This Is England.”
Where to Watch
This Is England is available to stream on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
