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This Is England

This Is England

Drama · Crime · 2007

A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends, even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.

Movie details

This Is England

“Run with the crowd, stand alone, you decide.”

2007 Drama · Crime 1h 42m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.7 / 10

133.7K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

93 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

86 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends, even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over This Is England?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Made in Britain

Made in Britain

TV Movie · 1983

16-year-old skinhead Trevor has no regard for authority, and would rather spend his time stealing cars than sitting in the detention centre to which he is sent. Social worker Harry Parker tries his best, but Trevor is only interested when there's something in it for him. The centre authorities try to conform Trevor to the norms of society, but he takes no notice, and would rather speak in a torrent of four-letter words and racial abuse.

Performance.

Performance.

Crime · 1970

In underworld terms, Chas Devlin is a 'performer,' a gangster with a talent for violence and intimidation. Turner is a reclusive rock superstar. When Chas and Turner meet, their worlds collide—and the impact is both exotic and explosive.

Bully

Bully

Crime · 2001

A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Bobby, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.

Little Odessa

Little Odessa

Drama · 1994

Long separated from his family, hitman Joshua returns to Brighton Beach for a contract killing for the Russian Mafia. His abusive father, Arkady, banned him from returning after Joshua committed his first murder. He takes up residence in a hotel, and soon everyone knows he has returned. He goes home to visit his dying mother, Irina, and prepares for the assassination, getting drawn back into the criminal community he left behind.

Trainspotting

Trainspotting

Drama · 1996

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

Imperium

Imperium

Crime · 2016

Nate Foster, a young, idealistic FBI agent, goes undercover to take down a radical white supremacy terrorist group. The bright up-and-coming analyst must confront the challenge of sticking to a new identity while maintaining his real principles as he navigates the dangerous underworld of white supremacy. Inspired by real events.

Snowtown

Snowtown

Crime · 2011

Based on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.

Miller's Crossing

Miller's Crossing

Drama · 1990

Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.

Dead Man's Shoes

Dead Man's Shoes

Drama · 2004

A soldier returns to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his disabled brother while he was away.

Joe the King

Joe the King

Crime · 1999

A destitute 14-year-old struggles to keep his life together despite harsh abuse at his mother's hands, harsher abuse at his father's, and a growing separation from his slightly older brother.

Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Shane Meadows

Written by

Shane Meadows

Thomas Turgoose

Thomas Turgoose

Shaun

Stephen Graham

Stephen Graham

Combo

Jo Hartley

Jo Hartley

Cynth

Andrew Shim

Andrew Shim

Milky

Vicky McClure

Vicky McClure

Lol

Joseph Gilgun

Joseph Gilgun

Woody

Rosamund Hanson

Rosamund Hanson

Smell

Court is in session

Put This Is England on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.