KMC Forums - Somers Town

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Director: Shane Meadows : Dead man's shoes, This is England.

Starring: Piotr Jagiello, Thomas Turgoose (This is England)

It's hard for me to know where to begin reviewing this film. It stars Thomas Turgoose, who everyone who's seen This is England will know as the cheeky little protaganist from Meadows' last and most well known film.

This centres around an unlikely friendship between Marek and Tomo. The former, a Polish immigrant boy who lives with his father in Somers town in London. The latter a boy who has ran away from home in Nottingham and has just arrived in London.

That pretty much sums up the entire plot...They become friends. Unlike Meadows' previous films there is no dark overtone to the film. Nothing to invoke the emotions that Dead man's shoes did. Nothing to make you feel uneasy the change in mood of "A room for Romeo Brass" did. While the film does have some genuinely....genuine moments (the talk between Marek and his father the day after Marek gets drunk and wrecks the house) it just lacks the emotional impact that some of Meadows other films have.

The saving grace for this film for me was the soundtrack. But then i've always been a huge fan of Gavin Clark and Clayhill anyway so i'm biased.

All things considered i was disappointed with this film. I think Meadows needs to team up with Paddy Considine again. The man has portrayed two of the finest and most disturbing anti-hero/bad guy roles i've seen in a British film in the characters "Richard" from dead man's shoes and "Morell" in a room for romeo brass.

i would put it at the bottom of the pile of Shane's work...not that that's entirely a criticism because all his previous feature length films have been absolutely magnificent.

so my order would be

Dead man's shoes
A room for Romeo Brass
This is England
Once upon a time in the Midlands
Twenty four seven
Somers Town.