This film is so startling, and yet weirdly beautiful.

Blistering account of grim, working-class life in the 1980s, and the easy temptations to blame immigrants for economic hardship. The first two-thirds of this finally look like the film that the talented Meadows has been threatening to make for years -- potent, funny and visceral. And in child actor Turgoose, he has unearthed a real find. Yet some characters are inconsistent: Shaun's mother, concerned at first for her son's well-being, simply disappears from sight.

Stephen Graham's preformance was absolutely amazing. The ending came a bit sudden but the rest of the movie was very inspiring.

I wanted to like it i really did, but the movie jsut didnt do it for me.

A heart-breaking Tale with underlining messages, looking back at an era that brought in social revolution; this film is a must watch.

Sometimes straining for artistry, but for the most part it's another great film about childhood with a good sense of humour, moments of intensity and an interesting bunch of characters. The way that Meadows decides to end the scene where the mum confronts the gang is such a wonderful way of sidestepping cliche and the opening montage is excellent.

"The director's affectionate warts-and-all portrait of his milieu and subculture is blistering, cogently capturing how England's early-'80s skinhead movement was driven less by blind racial intolerance than by intense socio-economic tensions." - Nick Schager

nice

Interesting insight into an undercurrent in British society. It balances sympathy and moral repugnance well, to dole out some well worn but still instructive social commentary on nationalism and the impressionability of youth.

A Ken Loach-esque story of an 11 year-old who becomes a skinhead, This Is England does a good job getting inside the head of its characters, not just the protagonist, but also the gang members who each have their own reasons for joining.