"I'll tell you how to get four people into a mini. Two in the back, two in the front and your Dad in the ashtray!"

After being bullied at school, Shaun comes across a gang of skinheads on the way from school to home. He becomes a friend with them, and they are almost like a family to him. Though things change when an old friend of the skinheads shows up and turns things around. The story is based on experiences of the director Shane Meadows.

Firstly I was confused if This Is England was a tv show or movie or both. Well, turns out both. Movie came first, then some mini series. So, well, yeah I started with the movie.

This Is England was mostly really distressing and depressing. Even for the scenes that weren't, I had the feeling that something bad is about to happen. And no, that's not the same feeling as in a thriller or an action or a horror. No, the bad thing about to happen is maybe not going to happen right away, but you just know things aren't going to stay the way they were. Mostly the music amplified that feeling. I mean there was a scene that felt actually nice in a way that yes, something good is happening to Shaun (who I didn't actually like at all, and I have no idea why I didn't), but the music made me feel like yeah this isn't going to last very long. And every depressing or distressing thing was even more so, because Shaun was there. I mean hell, the kid was 12, and well when I was 12, I couldn't have handled that kind of shit. He probably didn't handle it very well either. But when that skinhead Combo started to give his speech to everyone, it was horrible to see that Shaun was buying everything he said. I mean of course he bought that, he was 12, he had lost his dad and Combo was charismatic and used Shaun's grief to his own advantage. But it felt really horrible.

One other thing, This Is England didn't moralise racism or skinheads. I found that kind of weird. But then I realised that they didn't need to. If everyone watches This Is England and agrees with the skinheads, must already be a racist in a way. But what was weird that even though Woody and the others that Shaun befriended in the beginning didn't seem like skinheads. They never actually talked about anything that you would assume skinheads would talk about. And they didn't seem as racist as Combo. I mean they had Milky, who was originally Jamaican apparently, in their gang. Obviously all this was on purpose, but... why? Did they try to make Woody and his people look better compared to the other skinheads? Or did they try to make the point that skinheads are people also? I don't know, either way it was sort of weird.

But maybe the TV show may tell more about that side. I mean Woody was hardly in the movie towards the end. He was played by Joe Gilgun and that's kind of the reason why I got interested in the first place. Anyway I think I could watch at least the first mini series. But if it is as distressing and / or weird with some skinheads then I don't know if I will carry on to the next one. 

☆☆☆☆☆

5 / 10