1. This Is England

                   

This is England:

This is England tells the story of 11 year old Shaun who during his summer holidays befriends a group of local skinheads. The film shows the process of Shaun grieving his father who died fighting in the Falklands War. This is England is set in 1983 in the North of England; it shows lots of examples of racial issues being solved but simultaneously destroyed thought the skinhead community. The film also is a good representation of what gangs and friendship would have been like at the time but is still relatable to people in the present day.

Shane Meadows is the director and writer for this is England, he almost has a rule of locally sourcing the actors for his films to preserve authenticity. Quite a lot of the film is improvisation so the script feels quite genuine. He tends to set films in the midlands staying local to his roots. With This is England it literally looks like it could have been shot in 1983 and this is one of my favorite properties that it has.

I also love the soundtrack as it features ska and reggae tracks from bands such as ‘The Specials’ and ‘Toots & The Maytals’. The costumes (Levi Jeans, Fred Perry, Ben Sherman, Harrington’s, Over coats, Dr Martens and Monkey Boots) and haircuts of the cast are classic and also authentic, which adds to the fact of it being one of my favorite films. Shane Meadows also made sure that the cast had authentic tattoos, crosses and swallows. This is England has also been made into two follow up series and a third is being filmed.

My favorite character is ‘Woody’ because of his kind nature and loyalty to his friends. He’s the one that first takes Shaun into the group when he sees him walking alone looking upset. Woody and his girlfriend ‘Lol ‘ then help Shaun to become a skinhead. Even though woody is almost the leader of the group sometimes he can be can be a wimp and become emotional. I like how this contrasts with his hard exterior. I think that it shows that when someone is with a gang that they feel comfortable in there personality can alter.