Friday, November 06, 2009
Film Review- This Is England
The concept of the film is easy enough to understand. A young lad’s father is killed fighting in the Falklands, and he goes off the rails as he struggles to adjust to life without him. Unfortunately, that’s where the depth of the plot ends.
Fans of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes will enjoy this film for the chance to spot anachronisms, since it was set in July 1983. Two things in particular stand out. Firstly, there are a few scenes where the characters are sat in front of the TV watching Blockbusters. A few real anoraks will note that the programme didn’t begin its long run until August 1983, but more importantly, the clips they used clearly came from the late 80s or early 90s, since the computer graphics and set wouldn’t have been possible using the technology of the time.
Secondly, there were shots of street lighting that wouldn’t have been in use until a good four years later. There were also quite a few shots of very old cars, dating back to the late 1960s. Plausible, but fairly unlikely to still be in use by this stage.
The plot itself doesn’t really seem to go anywhere. Director Shane Meadows wants to convey the message that skinhead culture has its roots in Jamaican ska culture, before being adopted by the National Front, but not enough effort is made to explain this to the uneducated.
At the beginning, a 12-year-old boy called Shaun gets into a fight at school after another, slightly older boy makes insulting remarks about his late father.
On his way home, and feeling a bit down in the dumps, he meets a skinhead gang, consisting entirely of older lads, who take him on board and turn him into one of them.
The gang, who are on the wild side but show no signs of racism, even including Milky, a black character among their gang. They are led by the sympathetic and likeable Woody, who becomes something of a paternalistic figure to Shaun in the first half of the film.
Things start to go badly wrong when Woody’s much older friend Combo is released from prison after serving a three-year prison sentence.
Combo immediately reassumes control of the gang and orders them all around his flat, where he proceeds to make a subtly racist speech. He doesn’t go as far as to condemn all immigrants, and even seduces Milky into liking his ideas, but some of the smarter members of the gang, especially Woody and the female members, look uneasy at what he is saying.
Combo’s speech ends with him calling for the gang to fight to get their country back, and he draws a line in the floor with his spit and orders anyone who is not onside to leave. This causes a split in the gang, so Woody and the smarter members leave the room.
After this point, the second half of the film is all about brainwashing Shaun into National Front culture. Given an extra hour, this could have panned out into a believable and brutally real account of NF culture in the early 80s. Yes, it’s clear Shaun has “got in with the wrong crowd”, but we never really get to see the extent to which he has been sucked in by the NF’s core beliefs. The second hour could have become something greater, but it all felt very rushed. The themes and issues were just not given the time to develop. Perhaps the budget was running out.
The film ends with Combo smoking marijuana before beating Milky unconscious, and then seeks Shaun’s help to get him to hospital after realising the seriousness of what he’s done after calming down. We never find out whether Milky recovers, but it seems unlikely. Shaun then realises, without saying anything, the unpleasant nature of the crowd he had got in with, and knows deep down this is not how his father would want him to live his life. The film ends with Shaun throwing his England flag into the sea.
Huge credit must be given to the excellent Thomas Turgoose for his portrayal of Shaun as a cocky and confident yet easily manipulated young lad, somewhat ahead of his time. Joe Gilgun as Woody often deserves a mention. Rough and ready on the outside, yet scratch the surface and we soon see a fatherly figure with a strong moral compass, who expects the others to follow his lead.
What could have been a much better film has let itself down due to a lack of time (and, one suspects, a small budget). However, anyone over the age of 35 will enjoy the more-or-less realistic trip back to 1983.
Despite the very obvious problems of the estate on which the film is set, there is a certain innocence about it. Being part of Woody’s gang brings with it a sense of belonging and a strong moral code, despite instances of petty crime. The female members also add something important to the gang, as a sort of restraining influence on some of their excesses.
Growing up on an estate such as this and being part of Woody’s gang would have been a far safer experience than being there today, with the booze-fuelled drug and knife culture that would no doubt exist there now.
Fans of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes will enjoy this film for the chance to spot anachronisms, since it was set in July 1983. Two things in particular stand out. Firstly, there are a few scenes where the characters are sat in front of the TV watching Blockbusters. A few real anoraks will note that the programme didn’t begin its long run until August 1983, but more importantly, the clips they used clearly came from the late 80s or early 90s, since the computer graphics and set wouldn’t have been possible using the technology of the time.
Secondly, there were shots of street lighting that wouldn’t have been in use until a good four years later. There were also quite a few shots of very old cars, dating back to the late 1960s. Plausible, but fairly unlikely to still be in use by this stage.
The plot itself doesn’t really seem to go anywhere. Director Shane Meadows wants to convey the message that skinhead culture has its roots in Jamaican ska culture, before being adopted by the National Front, but not enough effort is made to explain this to the uneducated.
At the beginning, a 12-year-old boy called Shaun gets into a fight at school after another, slightly older boy makes insulting remarks about his late father.
On his way home, and feeling a bit down in the dumps, he meets a skinhead gang, consisting entirely of older lads, who take him on board and turn him into one of them.
The gang, who are on the wild side but show no signs of racism, even including Milky, a black character among their gang. They are led by the sympathetic and likeable Woody, who becomes something of a paternalistic figure to Shaun in the first half of the film.
Things start to go badly wrong when Woody’s much older friend Combo is released from prison after serving a three-year prison sentence.
Combo immediately reassumes control of the gang and orders them all around his flat, where he proceeds to make a subtly racist speech. He doesn’t go as far as to condemn all immigrants, and even seduces Milky into liking his ideas, but some of the smarter members of the gang, especially Woody and the female members, look uneasy at what he is saying.
Combo’s speech ends with him calling for the gang to fight to get their country back, and he draws a line in the floor with his spit and orders anyone who is not onside to leave. This causes a split in the gang, so Woody and the smarter members leave the room.
After this point, the second half of the film is all about brainwashing Shaun into National Front culture. Given an extra hour, this could have panned out into a believable and brutally real account of NF culture in the early 80s. Yes, it’s clear Shaun has “got in with the wrong crowd”, but we never really get to see the extent to which he has been sucked in by the NF’s core beliefs. The second hour could have become something greater, but it all felt very rushed. The themes and issues were just not given the time to develop. Perhaps the budget was running out.
The film ends with Combo smoking marijuana before beating Milky unconscious, and then seeks Shaun’s help to get him to hospital after realising the seriousness of what he’s done after calming down. We never find out whether Milky recovers, but it seems unlikely. Shaun then realises, without saying anything, the unpleasant nature of the crowd he had got in with, and knows deep down this is not how his father would want him to live his life. The film ends with Shaun throwing his England flag into the sea.
Huge credit must be given to the excellent Thomas Turgoose for his portrayal of Shaun as a cocky and confident yet easily manipulated young lad, somewhat ahead of his time. Joe Gilgun as Woody often deserves a mention. Rough and ready on the outside, yet scratch the surface and we soon see a fatherly figure with a strong moral compass, who expects the others to follow his lead.
What could have been a much better film has let itself down due to a lack of time (and, one suspects, a small budget). However, anyone over the age of 35 will enjoy the more-or-less realistic trip back to 1983.
Despite the very obvious problems of the estate on which the film is set, there is a certain innocence about it. Being part of Woody’s gang brings with it a sense of belonging and a strong moral code, despite instances of petty crime. The female members also add something important to the gang, as a sort of restraining influence on some of their excesses.
Growing up on an estate such as this and being part of Woody’s gang would have been a far safer experience than being there today, with the booze-fuelled drug and knife culture that would no doubt exist there now.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
The Changing Face of Christian Worship in Wales
I SAW a fascinating programme earlier tonight on BBC One Wales showing how the nature of Christian worship is changing rapidly in the country.
Essentially, the programme focussed on the fact that Evangelical Christianity is rapidly growing in popularity, with a large number of their congregations being below the average age, while traditional Church in Wales services are attended by dwindling, ageing believers.
What the programme failed to look on was the even wider picture of Christianity. I know that, in Liverpool, where I lived for a few years earlier in this decade, attendances for Roman Catholic Masses have risen significantly in recent years, especially at the Metropolitan Cathedral (Paddy’s Wigwam).
The main reason for this is the influx of Catholic immigrants from Eastern Europe, especially Poland, who come with a strong affiliation to Rome. In a very short space of time, the Catholic Church has seen a resurgence in pockets of Britain where large numbers of Eastern Europeans have settled.
It became clear to me through watching this programme that the Church in Wales is suffering from something of an identity crisis, even if it chooses to live in denial for the time being.
I’ve met and liked Archbishop Rowan Williams, but it seems clear to me that his church no longer knows what it stands for or represents. It has dropped, or at least loosened, many of the moral teachings that used to define it as a church. Women priests are in; women bishops soon will be. Open homosexuality is accepted amongst the clergy, and in many churches gay marriages can receive a blessing. These matters seem largely at the discretion of the parish vicar.
Yet at the same time, the traditional, Mass-like services remain intact. The Anglican Church in England and Wales seems to consist of a compromise between Biblical teachings and societal trends. The danger is, if it doesn’t know what it stands for, it may soon stand for nothing. In 1990, some 60,000 people worshipped in Anglican churches in Wales. Today, it is just 48,000. Without wishing to sound cruel, by looking around the congregations and noting the average age, this figure will probably halve during the next 15 years.
One thing is clear: Aside from the Eastern European influx into the Catholic Church, congregations tend to consist mostly of over 65s and under 30s. Yes, a surprising number of young people attend church services, and there is perhaps a growing trend among the younger generation to discover a greater meaning to life in our consumer and money-driven society.
History teaches us that secular societies don’t tend to last for very long, and based on these patterns, Britain is due a religious revival. A rapidly growing number of people, particularly the young, are inspired by the uplifting nature of Evangelical services, and see the teachings that come with it as a welcome alternative to the booze-fuelled, permissive and yobbish society in which we find ourselves. We can expect them to have a far greater role in our society during the next few decades.
The Catholic Church may be the chief beneficiary of a religious revival. Aside from the boost recent immigration has given to congregations, many people may be attracted by the way in which the Church bucks some of the trends of society, by sticking to a set of rules and moral standards that have remained largely constant for centuries. It knows what it stands for; it knows what it believes in, and it doesn’t feel the need to change its core values to match those of the prevailing wind.
The one key question is; Where does all this leave the Anglican Church? The ongoing debate about women bishops and its struggle to find a consistent stance on homosexuality threatens to tear it apart. In 30 years’ time, will it have much of a congregation left at all?
Essentially, the programme focussed on the fact that Evangelical Christianity is rapidly growing in popularity, with a large number of their congregations being below the average age, while traditional Church in Wales services are attended by dwindling, ageing believers.
What the programme failed to look on was the even wider picture of Christianity. I know that, in Liverpool, where I lived for a few years earlier in this decade, attendances for Roman Catholic Masses have risen significantly in recent years, especially at the Metropolitan Cathedral (Paddy’s Wigwam).
The main reason for this is the influx of Catholic immigrants from Eastern Europe, especially Poland, who come with a strong affiliation to Rome. In a very short space of time, the Catholic Church has seen a resurgence in pockets of Britain where large numbers of Eastern Europeans have settled.
It became clear to me through watching this programme that the Church in Wales is suffering from something of an identity crisis, even if it chooses to live in denial for the time being.
I’ve met and liked Archbishop Rowan Williams, but it seems clear to me that his church no longer knows what it stands for or represents. It has dropped, or at least loosened, many of the moral teachings that used to define it as a church. Women priests are in; women bishops soon will be. Open homosexuality is accepted amongst the clergy, and in many churches gay marriages can receive a blessing. These matters seem largely at the discretion of the parish vicar.
Yet at the same time, the traditional, Mass-like services remain intact. The Anglican Church in England and Wales seems to consist of a compromise between Biblical teachings and societal trends. The danger is, if it doesn’t know what it stands for, it may soon stand for nothing. In 1990, some 60,000 people worshipped in Anglican churches in Wales. Today, it is just 48,000. Without wishing to sound cruel, by looking around the congregations and noting the average age, this figure will probably halve during the next 15 years.
One thing is clear: Aside from the Eastern European influx into the Catholic Church, congregations tend to consist mostly of over 65s and under 30s. Yes, a surprising number of young people attend church services, and there is perhaps a growing trend among the younger generation to discover a greater meaning to life in our consumer and money-driven society.
History teaches us that secular societies don’t tend to last for very long, and based on these patterns, Britain is due a religious revival. A rapidly growing number of people, particularly the young, are inspired by the uplifting nature of Evangelical services, and see the teachings that come with it as a welcome alternative to the booze-fuelled, permissive and yobbish society in which we find ourselves. We can expect them to have a far greater role in our society during the next few decades.
The Catholic Church may be the chief beneficiary of a religious revival. Aside from the boost recent immigration has given to congregations, many people may be attracted by the way in which the Church bucks some of the trends of society, by sticking to a set of rules and moral standards that have remained largely constant for centuries. It knows what it stands for; it knows what it believes in, and it doesn’t feel the need to change its core values to match those of the prevailing wind.
The one key question is; Where does all this leave the Anglican Church? The ongoing debate about women bishops and its struggle to find a consistent stance on homosexuality threatens to tear it apart. In 30 years’ time, will it have much of a congregation left at all?
