ViewGuide

Created May 02, 2008 10:31AM PST • Edited May 02, 2008 10:31AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   A far more powerful movie than I had anticipated, “England” takes the 1980’s in Britain and filters it through the eyes of an easily-led 12 year old boy. This is probably one of the best English films I have seen.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   The standout performances come from Sean and Thommo; it’s hard to believe a child actor can be THIS good, especially with no experience of acting beforehand.

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

   The performance of Sean is fantastic; the little kid playing him is a talent that should not be lost or exploited. Thommo is a horrific, menacing character, and Stephen Graham’s performance is chilling to behold.

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

   The women in the film are pretty peripheral; the film, to make its point, showcases the lack of a father for Sean, and as a result the women are not really touched upon. However, the actresses are more than capable when portrayed on-screen.

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

8. Male Costars Great 4.0

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    The film is firmly rooted in its ’80’s setting, and it feels more deep and meaningful than its 90 minutes running time.

11. Direction Great 4.0

    Shane Meadows channels a lot of his own experiences of the ’80’s into Sean, and it shows. The film is fantastically directed and constructed simply because Meadows is drawing from his life, and the passion and emotions manifest through the film’s personal and touching moments.

12. Play Great 4.0

    I easily believed this was an ’80’s, English-based story, as the language and such inferred! The historical background to the story (Thatcher etc.) is cleverly touched upon throughout by the characters, and the tension generated by the speeches of the right-wing Thommo sent chills down my spine.

13. Music Great 4.0

    The ’80’s is remembered for its music more than anything else, and this film perfectly represents the decade’s sounds.

14. Visuals Great 4.0

    The look and feel of the film sets it apart; the ’80’s neighbourhoods, clothing and scruffiness is clear to see through the camera’s lens.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Horrid 4.1

    The use of racist language and other profanity, coupled with the violence, brings the film up to an 18 rating, and in places its clear to see why.

17. Sex Lewd 3.6

    Having a twelve year old go off with an older girl to “the shed in the garden” probably wouldn’t go down well with too many people watching.

18. Violence Savage 4.3

    The beating at the end of this film is so unexpected and brutal that it brings this ranking up. The menace throughout is easy to see and feel, but the release of this tension manifests itself in a visceral and quite grim situation.

19. Rudeness Nasty 4.3

21. Reality

    Natural 1.0

    As the film is based (partly) upon the director’s childhood, and the events are all too familiar in looking at the 1980’s, it’s easy to see that it could clearly have happened like this, and no-one would question it.

22. Circumstantial Natural 1.0

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0