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Title: A powerful and unforgettable movie
Review: "This is England" is strong and unsettling in the way powerful and violent literature can often be. The story is a simple one: A youngster, Shaun Fields (in a flawless performance by newcomer, Tomo Turgoose), lives with his mother in England after losing his father in the Falklands during the early 1980's. Bullied, ridiculed, or ignored by his classmates, he is befriended by a gang of skinheads, led by the likeable Woody, (Joe Gilgun).Shaun's role gradually changes from mascot to convert as he begins participating in increasingly horrifying acts of violence until the movie's brutal climax.Like literary classics such as "Native Son" or "A Lesson Before Dying," "This is England" is as much about youthful initiation and class disenfranchisement as it is about racism. Due to this movie's violent realism, it can be difficult to watch at times, but it captures a period in history, as well as the universality of needing to belong, in a remarkable and unforgettable way.
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