What begins as mainly innocent, if a bit rebellious, camaraderie between young 12 year old Shaun, who regularly gets bullied at school, and a group of older boys gradually becomes more sinister as they are presented with the realities of the skinhead movement of 1980’s England.

Though the friends Shaun initially makes are largely harmless, things change when an old member of the group, Combo, gets out of prison and takes the shaved head and preference for Doc Martens to another level. A line is drawn (literally) and Shaun’s sense of duty to his father, who died in the Falklands War, leaves him and Combo on one side and most of their friends on the other. What follows is an increasingly disturbing, yet realistic, account of racism and violence in the 1980’s.

Now, you may ask yourself, why are all of these teenagers and young adults hanging around with a 12 year old boy? Because Shane Meadows is a great screenwriter (and director), that’s why. Not only does it illustrate how the skinheads recruited the naive, but also how they themselves were just angry and immature, yet impotent in that they were unable to affect social change. Shaun is every kid in 1980’s England – scared, confused, hurt and angry. This provides and explanation for both the violence, as well as the great music, of the time. That’s another aspect Meadows didn’t skimp on – the soundtrack for this film is perfect. The performances of Thomas Turgoose as Shaun and Stephen Graham as Combo are equally amazing.

Thought provoking about the institutions of government, war, social unrest, and what happens when rebellion becomes as corrupt as its enemy, This Is England is truly a phenomenal piece of work. It’s the best I’ve seen since Amores Perros. This kind of film restores my faith in the medium as an art.

Rating: