A ROOM FOR ROMEO BRASS (1999) - Shane Meadows

Over the last ten years, Shane Meadows has proven himself to be one of the finest writer-directors not just in England, but in the world. His films are stripped of gloss and glamour and retain the gritty realism that his stories call for. Since Twenty Four Seven, released in 1997, Meadows films have gotten steadily better with each release, but that’s not to say his earlier work is any weaker than the likes of Dead Man’s Shoes and last year’s This Is England. A Room For Romeo Brass, Meadow’s follow up to Twenty Four Seven retains the hallmarks of Meadows’ style and marks his first collaboration with Paddy Considine.

A Room For Romeo Brass follows the fortunes of two young friends, Gavin and Romeo played by Ben Marshall and Andrew Shim. Romeo is an outspoken kid, who’s father has walked out on him, his sister and mother. Himself and Gavin get into a fight with some older boys, but are rescued by Morell, a twenty five year old eccentric man. Morell starts to hang around with the boys, and takes a shine to Romeo’s older sister. But after she rejects his advances, Morell starts to show a dark, dangerous and obsessive side to his personality. A side that threatens now only Romeo, but his family, and his friendship with Gavin.



As with the other films that Meadows has done, the look and feel to A Room For Romeo Brass would make some think that it is a low budget, amateur piece. And while the first part of that statement is true, the later part is in no way true. Meadows’ script and characterisation are very tight. The dialogue is witty, and at times, the film is very suspenseful. Quite a part of that must be credited to Considine’s performance as Morell. At first, Morell comes across as harmless, and you feel quite fond of him. At moments, his naivety is endearing, and you can feel sorry for him. But then it becomes clear that this kind of naivety can be dangerous, as Morell loses control of his actions. Considine’s performance is as good, if not better than that of Richard in Dead Man’s Shoes. It’s difficult to chose between the two performances, as they’re incredibly different. Considine seems to completely change physically between the roles, and it’s this that shows just how good of an actor he is.

Also collaborating with Meadows for the first of many times is Andrew Shim as Romeo. His performance needs to be strong, playing against Considine, but it’s no problem for Shim. He captures Romeo’s cock-sure nature very well. It’s easy to see why Meadows continues to work with Shim, as he’s quite comfortable in the role. Meadows has the knack for drawing great performances from his actors, who quite often are not professionals, and while the rest of the cast aren’t as integral as Considine and Shim, each of the actors is completely at home in their roles.



While A Room For Romeo Brass might not exactly be the type of film you’d expect to fill the multiplex, none of Meadows’ films go for that kind of audience. There’s no glitz or glamour to them. They present quite a grim view of their characters’ environments, but despite this, each of the films are steeped in reality. For first timers, Considine and Shim, their performances are outstanding. The script for A Room For Romeo Brass is tight, funny and suspenseful. The direction is excellent, and not a moment is wasted. While A Room For Romeo Brass isn’t as good as Dead Man’s Shoes or the truly outstanding This Is England, it’s still a brilliant film, and definitely worth getting your hands on.


8/10

THIS IS ENGLAND (2006) - Shane Meadows

Shane Meadows is quickly becoming one of the top writer-directors in the industry. His films are imbued with a reality that is very reminiscent of films of Ken Loach. After making the brilliant 2004 film, Dead Man’s Shoes, Meadows gets personal with the film This Is England, a semi-autobiographical account of a twelve year old’s experiences of 1983 Britain and the skinhead culture that was prevalent at the time. It was a time where Britain was struggling with crises both at home and abroad. Crises that made many people question their national identity and their position in society.

This Is England opens with a montage of television images from the early 1980s. Unemployed miners, National Front marches, royal weddings, people playing with Rubik’s cubes and Space Invaders and images from the Falklands War set up the era we’re being transported to. We meet Shaun. An only child, he lives with his mother. His father recently died in the Falklands. Shaun is bullied in school, he’s picked on for his hand-me-down clothes, a symptom of his family’s poverty. Shaun falls in with a gang of skinheads who accept him as one of their own. He immediately finds a place with the group of misfits. However, the situation turns sour when Combo arrives on the scene. Having been recently released from prison, Combo has learned some pretty controversial views while locked up, views he shares with the gang. While giving one particularly racist speech, he invokes images of the soldiers dying in the Falklands, something that really hits home with Shaun. Shaun becomes somewhat of a protégé for Combo. However the volatile nature of Combo, and deep insecurities in him put him, and those who associate with him on a course for tragedy.



While I’m sure it wasn’t Meadow’s intention when making This Is England to make a film that reflects the state of society today, there are definitely parallels with attitudes of the time and the attitudes of some now. However, this film isn’t some sort of moral lesson. It’s an incredibly personal account of Meadows’ experiences during a time of great social upheaval. These experiences are documented brilliantly by Meadows’ script and direction. There is rarely a moment in the film that doesn’t feel incredibly authentic. As Shaun is accepted by the group of skinheads, you do really feel the loyalty and friendship that exists between the friends. Even when Combo appears, you still have a sense of the loyalty that existed before he went to prison for Woody, the ‘leader’ of Shaun’s friends. As Combo delivers his state of the nation speech to the young, impressionable youths, the tension is palpable. The scene reminded me of a similar one in American History X, however, Meadows direction creates a far more believable scene.



Meadows’ cast is also outstanding. Newcomer Thomas Turgoose is instantly believable as Shaun. He’s an angry, volatile, impressionable child and Turgoose perfectly captures his innocence when he’s with a girl for the first time, and the rage he exhibits when attacking Combo for mentioning the Falklands or instigating a racist attack on a shopkeeper. Credit must also be given to Stephen Graham (Snatch, Gangs of New York) as Combo. It would be very easy for someone to play the racist bad guy as a one-dimensional caricature, spitting national pride and racism in equal quantities. Instead, you can see Combo’s a very damaged character. Rejected by a girl he was infatuated with and searching for something to cling to, racism is his outlet. The rest of the cast, made up of unfamiliar faces are all excellent as the people inhabiting the era.

Few films capture reality as convincingly as This Is England. From the script to the cast and the direction, there is very little to take away from the film. It’s clear from the film that the events in it come from a very personal place for Shane Meadows. While the film doesn’t tackle the social questions on a large scale, it’s a story about people from a small town, Meadow’s definitely touches on the highly questionable ideas raised at the time. Questions that are being asked once again by some due to the volatile politics in the world right now. But at the end of the day, This Is England is a film. And as such, it needs to entertain. And there’s no worry there. Meadows is a brilliant writer and director and This Is England confirms this.


9/10