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This Is England Review

Movies.com Critics

4.5

Dave White Profile

… sad and fascinating … Read full review

Other Critics provided by Metacritic.com

Critics scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 5.0
    86

    out of 100

    Metascore®
    Universal acclaim
    based on a weighted average of all
    critic review scores.

  • 70

    out of 100

    Variety

    With its knockout lead perfs and taut if slightly familiar construction, this '80s-set dramedy about a skinhead gang reps Meadows' most fluently made film so far.

    Read Full Review

  • 75

    out of 100

    Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Sad, menacing, empathetic story.

    Read Full Review

  • 88

    out of 100

    Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

    The movie is taut, tense, relentless. It shows why Shaun feels he needs to belong to a gang, what he gets out of it and how it goes wrong.

    Read Full Review

  • 90

    out of 100

    The New York Times Manohla Dargis

    A modest, near-flawless gem, This Is England is the fifth feature by the young British director Shane Meadows, doing his best work since he first hit the festival scene in the mid-1990s with his hilarious, raw-hewn shorts "Small Time."

    Read Full Review

  • 90

    out of 100

    Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

    The writer-director brilliantly juxtaposes the personal and the political, bookending a stirring coming-of-age drama with the provocative opening and an equally affecting end sequence.

    Read Full Review

  • See all This Is England reviews at Metacritic.com

Fan Reviews provided by

5

Brilliant!!! by BodhiDavi
This movie was so refreshing to see. It is packed with 80's nostalgia and did a great job bringing that decade back to life without going "over- the- top corny" on the audience. Shaun, (Thomas Turgoose), should easily be nominated for some best actor awards in the UK...he was THAT good. The acting is so geniune and raw, that you will probably disregard any problems you find with this movie. My problem was dispite genious camera work and editing - some scenes + character development were a little rushed. As well, this movie tackled the subject of nationalism and its major pitfalls and only just skimmed the surface of it. It's such an interesting subject that I wish was tackled a little more in depth in this movie. HIGHLY RECCOMENDED!!!

5

Be prepared to be shaken by lsuperior
Solely from a filmmaking point of view, this movie was brilliant from the acting to the cinematography to the period music soundtrack. The content was full of social, cultural and political commentary but there was also a bittersweet element to Shaun and the way the coming-of-age theme was woven in between the explosions of violence, hatred, racism and manipulation. You will question yourself on a few levels though...go see it. Bring gum. You WILL get ansy.

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