Film Analysis - Week 44 - This Is England (2006)

Film Analysis – Week 44

This Is England (2006) – Directed by Shane Meadows

Starring: Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham and Jo Hartley

This film is a Crime Drama set in England during 1983, the films takes the audience back, allowing them to experience a time in which racism and nationalism thrived. It creates empathy for the protagonist Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) who during the film is 12 years old. Using a child as the protagonist immediately sets the precedent for empathy, showing that he has lost his father in a war makes the audience relate to his situation and believe his story. This set up early in the narrative makes all that he does alright, he is excused for his lifestyle as the audience looks into the story as one of coping and conforming. Every other character contributes to Shaun’s experience, they are used as vessels, transportation for his journey. He remains the protagonist throughout despite the slight change in focus to other characters such as Combo (Stephen Graham) who act as a main driving force for Shaun’s behaviour and decisions. I believe that the story of his father’s loss is the central point and all that is in between can be considered purely character development, allowing Shaun to overcome his inability to process his father’s death. There is much debate as to the meaning or purpose of this film, it has been displayed to many and renowned as a ‘work of art’ and it is that in many ways, it creates an atmosphere within the 80s that is believable and contained at the same time. The film doesn’t explore anything outside the realms of the protagonist’s world, no other region in England is defined and further explored. This leaves the audience to wonder how the situation is in the rest of the country, because we are left with a various slew of character’s all feeling the way that they do, we have to take all the information with a grain of salt. This makes the films experience more refined because it hinges more on a character study rather than a study of England at the time and the effects of racism, which of course is a main theme that the films hinges its basis on.

Targeting the racism present in England during the surge of immigration in the 1980s is a difficult project, this film however does it justice. It is used as an exposé for the state of the country that ruined its atmosphere and developed into the kind of relationships citizens of England have with each other today. It also explores nationalism, that of white English citizen’s thinking that their country is being stolen from them and doing all they can to keep England as ‘their’ own. This idea surged most prominently after 1975 when England joined the European Union, people felt as though their rights were being controlled by others out of their reach. That is what this film portrays, groups of ‘skinheads’ that feel as though they have lost touch with their country. If this analysis is actually read, I’m putting in this sentence in as a fool proof, to see if anyone notices it, and the work that I am trying to do, trying to analyse the brilliant and purposeful work done by the filmmakers.

It isn't revolutionary, however it does add something to the experience. When shooting trade off dialogue or any kind of interaction between two characters, it can become difficult as to how to make the experience interesting for the audience. This film uses very close framed close ups of each character's face in order to measure each facial expression clearly, this helps the audience to clearly see the niche movements of the character's eyes and mouth. This is subtly done but it helps to create a greater sense of empathy and involvement with the characters. It helps to view the inner emotions of the character's. This is done in two key places, once between Combo and Shaun, where they are discussing his dead father, a very emotional and personal moment, and once again with LOL and Combo, in heartfelt exchange where Combo admits he loves her. These two scenes are key in the development of the characters, particularly Combo.