The film is given the following certifications: UK:18, Australia:MA, Ireland:18, USA:Unrated, Sweden:11, Finland:K-15, France:U (with warning), Germany:12, Netherlands:16. This is because the film includes sex and nudity; a child and teenager kiss, pornographic images are shown, and past sexual experiences are discussed, violence and gore as we see archive footage of war as well as someone brutally beating a teenager to death, and profanity, seeing as swear words are used at least once a minute, and crude and racist terms are also spoken. The film also shows teenagers experimenting with alcohol drugs and smoking, as well as a very violent scene at the end which is intense and frightening due to the realism of the film. It is surprising, however, that despite all of these aspects of the film which make it an 18 in both the UK and Ireland, it is only rated a U in France and as an 11 in Sweden.
‘This is England’ is set in Grimsby, and was filmed in Grimsby, Nottingham, and RAF Newton, also in Nottingham. The production companies that funded the film credits were Big Arty Productions, EM Media, Film4, Optimum Releasing, Screen Yorkshire, UK Film Council and Warp Films.
We researched Warp Films, UK Film Council and Film4 to get an idea of the kind of companies that funded the film credits. We discovered that Warp Films creates exciting pieces of British film, and has been doing so over the past 5 years. It has won numerous awards (including three BAFTAs) since being set up in 2002 and has created many films and productions including 'My Wrongs 8245-8249 and 117’, ‘Dead Man's Shoes', 'Grow Your Own', 'This is England', 'Dog Altogether', and most recently 'Scummy Man'. We also found out that the UK Film Council is the Government-backed lead agency for film in the UK, which ensures the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented. The UK Film Council funds script development, film production, short films, film distribution and export, film education, festivals, skills development and national and regional film agencies. The following was learnt about Film4 - In 1982 Channel 4 launched Film4, whose productions reflected contemporary and social political topics. Film 4 aims to fund around 20 films a year with a number of the films by first-time screenwriters and directors , meaning every project that they develop and produce does something new, which goes somewhere that other British films have never been. Film 4 made many major British films including “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, “Trainspotting”, “This is England”, and “My Beautiful Laundrette”.
The Distributors of ‘This is England’ included the following - IFC Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical), IFC First Take (2007) (USA) (theatrical), Madman Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (all media), NetFlix (2007) (USA) (DVD) ,NonStop Entertainment (2007) (Sweden) (theatrical), Optimum Releasing (2006) (UK) (theatrical), Red Envelope Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD), Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2008) (Finland) (DVD).
One British reviewer said about ‘This is England:
“Meadows appears to want to find emotional truths behind the bravado, to find reasons for the male rage. It's a valid quest, and there are telling and touching moments, particularly between Turgoose and Rosamund Hanson. I found myself wishing that their love story could occupy more of the film, maybe for the same reason that the Shane Meadows film I have enjoyed most is the one his real fans loathe: the comedy Once Upon a Time in the Midlands. But from the get-go of this drama, it is obvious that things are heading only one way: towards a climactic flourish of violence, and it's a glum business wondering to whom and from whom this is going to happen. This is a violent subject, and these are violent people, and yet I couldn't help feeling that Meadows is, as so often, more comfortable with machismo than with the humour and gentleness which play a smaller, yet intensely welcome part of his movies. However agnostic I confess to still feeling about his work, there's no doubt that Meadows is a real film-maker with a growing and evolving career, and with his own natural cinematic language. When I think of his films, I think, for good or ill: this is English cinema.”
An American reviewer wrote:
"The film's apparently a personal matter for Meadows, who's fictionalizing his own adolescence and whose filmmaking benefits from the honesty. As its title implies, "This Is England" isn't a hyperstylized head-trip a la "Trainspotting" but a straightforward calling to account. Period tunes like "Tainted Love" and "Come on Eileen" hover in the background instead of pushing forward with heavily edited force. The accents are almost incomprehensibly thick, four-letter words thudding like concussion bombs, and this is the way these people talk: frustration rendered as common speech.
Meadows has previously made a series of gritty, whimsical, and very British dramas -- "A Room for Romeo Brass" (1999) and the lesser "Once Upon a Time in the Midlands" (2002) have received the widest distribution in the United States, which still isn't saying much -- but here he finally seems to come into his own.
There's a gutter pride taken in how aggressively Shaun confronts the world, but there's also a blunt, no-nonsense analysis of where the kid goes wrong, and you know he knows it, too. At times the hero seems like a tiny old man, physically less mature than the towering skinhead girl (Rosamund Hanson) he fiddles with, but emotionally far savvier.
As "This Is England" barrels toward its conclusion, though, Shaun does something unexpected: He grows younger. Cracks appear in Combo's bravado, too, and Graham lets us see the neediness that can propel a hateful man. The film ends by staring down the audience as a cover version of the Smiths' "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" graces the final credits. It's a gentle send-off to a blistering experience, but it soothes no one, and the plea in its title lingers like tear gas."
We also collected three user comments on ‘This is England’ from http://www.imdb.com/ :
“Best film of the Berlin Film Festival 2007, 14 February 2007
Author: dePaoli from Berlin, Germany
I just saw "This Is England" at the Berlin Film Festival where it was screened in the section "Generation 14P". This section is an extension of the former "Kinderfilmfest" for teenagers between 14 and 18 - dealing with more mature issues.I had no clue about it, just that it would be about skinheads in England and that it takes place in the 80s. I wasn't expecting much, hoping for something like a British version of "American History X" - I got a lot more.When I left the theater I was absolutely stunned! Cast and script were outstanding. I loved the rough editing and grainy camera style that made the movie look a real 80s flick! And last but not least: the soundtrack is a blast! And coming from a director who used to be part of the real scene, it might be the most authentic picture about skinheads ever made.Although it didn't get as much attention as the Hollywood films that had their premiere at the Berlinale Palast, it's a lot stronger than almost all the films in competition.I hope it will make its way the movies and not end up as a direct-to-video-flick... 10/10"
“Bitter sweet rites of passage story set to skinheads, 2 November 2006Author: ant plate from United Kingdom
'This is England' is a must see for the type of persons who enjoy a good old 'innocence of youth' narrative (including a very comedic, almost cringe inducing, 'first kiss' scene) layered with powerful retrospective British realism reflecting early 1980's societal issues of the type that you wont see on any saccharin dipped 'i remember 1982' clip show.Based largely around the 'skinhead' activities of the early eighties its interesting to note that the story really draws distinctions between the types of skinheads - the nazi/racist and the two-tone/soul loving skinheads.Much like Mr Meadows other outings which tend to include a lot of relatively unknown and TV only actors/actresses, they all throw in sterling performances, particularly Stephen 'snatch' Graham as 'Combo'(sp.?) and the unknown Thomas Turgoose as young 'Sean'(sp?).The soundtrack is as usual strategically lined up to help convey with the overall look and feel, with musical styles ranging from reggae (toots and the maytals), punk and two tone. It does however include new music presumably for a soundtrack album sales point of view, what with the most underrated Clayhill covering The Smiths(?).overall: its as retrospective sharp as it is thought provoking, so if you lived anywhere near this time then see it: you may just like it. I you didn't then learn from this time in history when skin heads were either very open minded or very closed minded."
“A great British film - or should that be English?, 29 April 2007Author: Andrew Marshall from United Kingdom
There is no doubt that this film is a truly great piece of film-making. Shane Meadows crafts films in the same style as Martin Scorcese. We are given a glimpse into the lifestyle of a group of characters over a short period of time. It is very much a fly on the wall type of movie. The point of these films is to understand the actions of the characters rather than judging their actions. I have no doubt that there will be some people that tag this film as being racist which is rather missing the point.The film follows Shaun a 12 year old being borough up in early 80's England. He has lost his father in the Falklands war and suffers bullying and isolation until he is befriended by a group of skinheads. The happy band are challenged when Combo is released from prison. Thomas Turgoose is magnificent in the lead role and the direction/screenplay are also spot on the mark. For anybody that lived through the period there are lots of reminders about the period. The film is based on Meadow's own childhood and is quite mesmerising at times.I was gripped throughout the film and it also gave me plenty to think about afterwards. What more can you ask for when going to the movies? I suppose if you go to the movies for escapism then go watch something else, but if you want a gripping thought provoking drama then it doesn't come much better than this. Outstanding!"
User ratings report:
For user ratings, the demographic with the higher average which found the film to be most appealing was females under the age of 18, (8.8) closely followed by males under the age of 18. (8.6) However, this graph shows that the demographic with the highest votes were males, as they had the highest at 15,584, where-as females were shown to have 1,850 votes, which is considerably lower.
Under Gold Standard, this film would receive maximum points as it has a full British cast and crew, and is fully set in Britain. Therefore it would receive 31 points. A majority of the crew is British and the music is also. “This Is England” also reflects British culture and the introduction of the film takes you through the British heritage, and especially symbolizes the hatred towards Margaret Thatcher and significance of the British flag.
Other films which have been written and directed by Shane Meadows include, “Somers Town”, 2008, “The Stairwell”, 2005, “Northern Soul, 2004,” “Dead Mans Shoes”, 2004, “Once Upon A Time in The Midlands”, 2002, “A Room For Romeo Brass”, 1999, “247: Twenty Four Seven”, 1997, “Small Time”, 1996, “Where’s the Money, Ronnie?” 1996.
“This Is England,” has won and been nominated for a total of 10 awards. This includes winning Best British Film at the BAFTA Awards 2008, nominated for Best Screenplay at the BAFTA Awards 2008, nominated for Best Film at the Golden Kinnaree Award 2007, nominated twice at the British Independent Film Award 2006, for Best Director and Best Screenplay, Won an award in 2007 at the Young Audience Award, nominated for Best Director of the Year at the ALFS Awards in 2008, won two awards in 2008 for Best European Film and Young European Jury Award, and finally, won Best Director Award in 2007 .
Other films similar to ‘This is England’ include ‘Little Miss Sunshine’, and ‘Juno’. This is because they’re both films which show the ordinary and not glamorous lives of working/middle class people. Both films also show the lifestyle of families, and real life struggles they go through, for instance, Juno who becomes pregnant can be compared to Shane from ‘This is England’, as they’re both characters which face real life issues. The music is also quite similar in ‘Juno’, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and ‘This is England’, and also the similar type of atmosphere which is quite light hearted and simple, yet shows the true struggles that everyday people face in life.
This young actor , Thomas Turgoose who plays Shaun in 'This is England' was auditioned in a basic room with just one man asking him questions about his life, such as what Thomas enjoys doing. However, the audition was very unusual, as for example Thomas wasn’t dressed smartly; he was just wearing his everyday normal clothes, and he was also chewing gum while being interviewed. The questions that were also asked were quite informal. Nothing at all what you would expect an interview would be like for a British film. Also, what was unusual in the way this young actor got the role of Shane, was the fact that at one point during the interview he was asked the question if he wanted to do acting when he was older, and he said no, he wasn’t that interested in acting. Yet the interviewer just replied saying that’s good, as they weren’t looking for an actor, but a young boy that could be himself. This is very unusual, because they chose a young boy who stated he wasn’t even that interested in acting, to play the main role in a British film.
From the different range of clips of Shane Meadows discussing his films to Long Road Media Studies 6th Formers, he was shown to have to say that he actually cares about his actors, and to him it doesn’t matter which class their from. For instance, they could be from working, middle or upper class. He also believes that actors create their own luck. Shane Meadows also describes how when he made a script, he drew it out over a long time (over 12 months) and he also had several ideas at once. However, when he had a meeting with the producers they kept adding ideas for the script and Shane said how he’d do what he always does, which is improvise and change the script once they actually start shooting. Therefore, this proves that his ideas and actions are quite spontaneous.
Features of 'This is England' which are particularly British include the location, as it is located in Grimsby. This is very typical in the fact it’s not a well known part of England such as somewhere like London, yet is rougher part of Britain and shows the British working class culture. The dialogue is also particularly British, as it uses words such as “Twat,” which is part of British slang. The way they speak is also typical of a British accent. For instance, they're not shown to speak in a posh 'BBC' accent which is often conveyed in Hollywood, emphasising the British stereotype. The cast in 'This is England' speak in a “rough” yorkshire accent which most people don’t get to hear in the movie industry. Certain mise-en-scene is also British, such as places like the corner shop are shown. This very stereotypical in the fact it’s also run by a foreigner, because as we know, the culture of the run down corner shops started of in Britain.
Overall, the appeal of this film is that it would intrigue other countries and cultures because it would be an insight for them into typical British lives. Therefore, they would find it interesting to see how we live and what we get up to in our lives everyday. It’s also appealing because it’s a very true picture of British history, culture and the people that live in England. For example, not everyone in England speaks in a posh accent like the Queen, and this film conveys this factor. It also shows the lives of the working/middle class which not many films show. All of these points not only intrigue other cultures, but make the film easy for a British audience to engage and connect with.
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