Entertainment For Lively Minds
This Is England 86
Posted by DogFacedBoy on 8 September 2010 - 12:29am.
Blimey that was a bit good - wonderful cinematography, slow character development, nice mix of drama and comedy.
No doubt pedants will say that a particular Ford Fiesta or hat wasn't issued until 1987 but I bloody loved it.
We've got two more still to go and you know that Steve Graham's mesmerisingly intense psycho Combo will return.
Anyone else watch this rather than the annual Mercury nonsense?
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i've sky plussed it
but didn't series link it. When's the next episode on?
same time next week
i think
thank you.
magic box duly set!
This Is A Pedant
Even in the dim dark East Midlands of 86 the tribes portrayed belonged to Meadows older brother. But hey, that's artistic licence. Sergio Tacchini in '86? Maybe in Coalville but everywhere else it ST was all over in 86.
This Is East England (no more)
Yuk yuk yuk, Coalville in 86?! I was there, Ted - well, studying at the Technical College for my BTEC NC. I believe the year before I started there it was voted Britain's Dirtiest Town.
It seems that this short series takes place somewhere in Yorkshire (judging by some of the shots of the local buses) which, because of the variance of the gang's accents, seems a strange move. As an east midlander, I'm a bit disappointed that Meadows has moved from his usual filmic pissing patch, he seems to be the only film maker that ever sets his works there, a cinematic Alan Sillitoe if you will.
Still, triffic series, mind, with primo music. I understand that there will be another series set in 1990, hopefully we won't have to wait another 4 years for it!
BR
FT
Much of it was filmed in Sheffield
I gather they wanted to film in Nottingham, but Nottingham Council weren't very helpful, whereas Sheffield Council were.
The only reason I know that is that one of the location scouts came into our office early this year to see if we had any properties that might be suitable for filming.
As it happens, I haven't seen any of the series yet and I missed the first two and didn't record them as I was on holiday. I may therefore have to wait for the repeats!
Not worried about the clothes
or the anachronistic end of school celebration (never saw or heard of that happening and my school was the "next one over" from shaun's.)
No even though I enjoyed it I was perplexed by Banjo's rehabilitation; in the end of the film he's a menacing racist sidekick of Combo in this film he's a loveable character eating voluvents.
That being said I did enjoy it and Thomas Turgoose is brilliant he's wonderful in his put upon characters he has that ratty looking uneasy feel that you rarely see portrayed well by young actors.
Banjo as good guy
That bothered me too, along with the previous memory of Perry Benson being him defacating in a corner shop.
Arggh
the memory of Perry Benson's arse hoves into view!
Meggy really just was the 'nerdy kid trying to fit in' in Combo's gang. Not really beleiving in anything but just wanting to belong
Banjo is a little more worrying and I hope that Meadows will deal with his story maybe when\if Combo returns. The part he played in Milky's near fatal beating can't just be brushed over with some sort of 'oh he was easily led' line.
I'm glad the 'sequel' storyline is being told over 4 hours of excellent Tv rather than another film as it really gives the narrative room to breathe without feeling padded out
And the use of 'Man Of The World' at the end - flippin lovely
thinking about
the only justification I can see is that banjo was stopping shaun getting a kicking from combo (in combo's rage) and that he is just a coward that being said earlier in the film he's openly racist to milky.
Shame as I do like Shame meadow's stuff and it was only a minor quibble.
The use of Happy Hours was on the nail too as it got to number one(?) in May 86 and this was all in june/july
Banjo bothered me as well
Banjo went from being quite a heavy frightening presence in the film to pretty much a comedy character.
Plus: I thought the series would still be looking to tackle the racism issues that were the main force in the film. But maybe that's all to come. The brief footage of Combo at the start (was this a deleted scene from the movie or something? How was this shot?) gave the impression that he will be making an appearance.
I didn't like the two new guys, the two bullies in the tracksuits. Just seemed a bit too slapstick, like something out of Shameless or Ideal. It needs to get a bit more gritty and realistic, like the film was.
Having said all that, I think it's a great idea for a series. There was enough in this opening episode to leave me hungry to watch the rest of the series. Sean was terrific, and so was Lol. She reminds me of Emma Thompson in Tutti Frutti, with the hair and the suit!
I always said that the one biggest fault with the film is that it didn't really go anywhere: it's just starting to get going with all these fascinating characters, and then it suddenly just ends. So looks like this series will rectify that.
Buy 3 get one free
I haven't seen it yet but I'm sure the good news is that there are actually four episodes rather than three.
So ep2 then (SPOILERS)
what did we think?
Obviously the whole gang meeting at the start was the clam before the storm as many of this weeks events threaten to blow their world apart. Some thoughts (POSSIBLE SPOILERS)
* Woody is such a useless sod, like a mod Eeyore
* Shaun's bit of the story was so bittersweet with him geeting some self confidence and worth before it all came crashing down around him. I'm worried that he could fall in with some bad uns
* The party scene looked a bit like a trailer for Skins
* "its like an enema Bloody Mary"
* They aren't going to deal with the Banjo thing are they?
Still best thing on telly atm
More spoilers...
...though I don't think I'm giving much away by saying that Lol is the focus of '86, and she brought Combo right back in the mix in her conversation with Milky. Both her and Shaun are being pushed away from their loved ones; ideal for Combo to pounce on and take advantage. Dark clouds were looming as tonight's episode ended, and there was a tense feeling of foreboding.
I agree
Things are starting to get bleak. This is good.
A lot of the comedy moments were misjudged though.
Two more episodes to go, I'm back on the fence. Could go either way.
And they have GOT to start addressing the Banjo problem.
No spoilers
but that was simply brilliant - funny, sad and grimly heartbreaking at turns. Meadows directed these last two episodes and he did a masterful job so far. Again wonderful use of music and sound.
Christ, tonight was where it did go dark.
SPOILERS
It reeled me in with some fantastic comic vignettes (the five-a-side fight soundtracked by Dr Feelgood's Down By The Jetty, and more of the sublime Smell), and then menaced its way to a truly nasty climactic scene, as much of a body blow as the unleashing of Combo's violence in the original film.
And I'm really worried about Lol.
Yep
Smell has been a bit of a revelation for me in the past couple of episodes. She's really fantastic.
I've given up on Banjo now.
Shaping up nicely though. Last episode is make or break though. If it ends well it will really have been a little masterpiece of a series.
I'm recording this...
so trying to avoid the spoilers, but one thing that came up when I mentioned this before here...
http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/this-is-england-86-new-shane-meado...
...was that by '86, all this sort of youth culture had died out, what's the significance of it being set in '86?
I agree
And I have kind of accepted that it's not really of ANY significance being set in 86. I mean, there are a lot of references to the world cup, but not much beyond that. I think it's broadened out as a drama, it's not the period piece that the movie was. But that's not necessarilly a good thing. It is what it is!
Maybe...
...it brings a kind of circularity to Shaun's story, with his father killed in the Falklands and the England vs. Argentina game in '86. He still has issues with this, highlighted by Mr Sandhu's relationship with his mother, and Combo (who became a kind of father figure for Shaun in the film) returning on what would have been his dad's birthday may not be coincidental to the storyline.
Thanks
makes a bit more sense now.
Ah....
Not being a football fan, I hadn't picked up on the fact that England played Argentina in 1986. Doh. Makes sense.
This has become my favourite new show of the season
I'll be gutted when it ends. But I hear they're moving on four years for the sequel, to take place during Italia '90.
So... final episode...
Thoughts?
I thought it was up there with the best. Just fantastic TV. Mature, thought-provoking, economical story-telling. Shocking and with a bitter aftertaste.
The return of Combo was handled brilliantly. Real dramatic weight, and really pulled the rug out from under you by avoiding the expected emotional showdown with all the other characters.
Well done Shane Meadows and all the cast and crew. The hand of God...
I'm wondering about Combo
was there another reason that he wanted his Mum's place to himself? Stashed something there in the past? Also with him having now done time for Lol and Woody (in the film) I'm not sure redemption is on his mind. He may be playing the long game.
Stephen Graham as Combo still had that edge of simmering violence and danger even when Combo seemed at his meekest. The scene between Lol and her Dad were so bloody powerful they made me shake.
Bit too much use of the slow mo in this episode but top acting from all corners. And as I have pointed out elsewhere, Lol's dad best bearded psychopath since his lookalike, Bullet Baxter, the PE teacher from Grange Hill
Interesting thoughts re Combo
but I don't see there being any "long game" involved. Are there any plans to extend it at all?
I see it as Combo just punishing himself for all the trouble he caused in the film, and also making a sacrifice for Lol's sake. I think with this series and the film considered together, you can see that Combo is really just quite a flakey, troubled character. Really interesting that he ends up this way instead of being the scary racist monster he initially seems to be. (Not saying he's not racist, just that there are underlying mental problems that are all tied up with it)
Great series, anyway.
There are rumours
of a 1990 film\special\series but I'm guessing they are waiting to see how this is recievec first.
Interesting thoughts re Combo
but I don't see there being any "long game" involved. Are there any plans to extend it at all?
I see it as Combo just punishing himself for all the trouble he caused in the film, and also making a sacrifice for Lol's sake. I think with this series and the film considered together, you can see that Combo is really just quite a flakey, troubled character. Really interesting that he ends up this way instead of being the scary racist monster he initially seems to be. (Not saying he's not racist, just that there are underlying mental problems that are all tied up with it)
Great series, anyway.
Combo's contribution SPOILERS
I think Combo's reappearance was handled brilliantly.
From the moment he passed out on the floor of Sean's house at the end of Episode 3, it was clear he was in desperate straits. Had he been inside? Sleeping rough? Battling with a drug addiction?
Wherever he'd been, he was somehow diminished. The brutish arrogance had been knocked out of him. I think he was back at his mum's searching for a place to stay. Guilty, because he'd obviously not been to see her (while she was presumably suffering from a long-term decline). And genuinely upset by her demise, as revealed by his childishly inappropriate prayer at her death-bed, ending in "Today has been a happy day."
Dressed in Sean's dead father's clothes, which were just that bit too big for him, he suddenly looked the small, insecure, and lonely man he really was.
When he was confronted by the terrible scene at Lol's, it seemed to me that a light went on above his head as he realised he could do something genuinely selfless for Lol, the woman he loved. I really do think it was a question of redemption. He was incredibly tender with her, which was emphasised even more by the glimpse of the old violent Combo as he went into almost animalistic autopilot, biting Lol's bludgeoned dad, smearing the spilled blood on himself, and grabbing the body's limp hand, scraping and slapping it against his face to provide the DNA evidence that he was the killer. It was as if he had finally found a way to truly punish himself for his past crimes.
Well said
You know, I hadn't even picked up on the fact that he was wearing Sean's dad's clothes! I noticed they were a bit baggy and shapeless, and pondered how different he looked from his old skinhead Ben Sherman finery. The physical difference in him was incredible to see.
Good call on the scene with him and the body as well: it was one of those fantastic scenes where for a minute you are not sure what's actually going on. I thought he was going mad or something.
For anyone who's interested
Shane Meadows has just confirmed that Channel 4 have greenlit This is England '90.
Excellent news.
This Is England '88
Time to resurrect this thread....
What did we think of '88 then?
I thought it was slow-moving, but with enough promise to make me stick with it for the next couple of nights (I've only just found out this is on over three consecutive nights: brilliant!). Plus I trust Shane Meadows enough to stick with it after the magnificent story arc of '86 developed after its slow start.
I can see Lol being the eventual focus again. No bad thing: she's an amazing character and it's an amazing performance.
Can I just say..
..that 86 pissed all over any American series from the last 10 years (and I do like The Wire, Dexter Treme and Deadwood)
No showy ("this is real") method acting and unlike The Wire, I could actually understand what people were saying.
Combo's scene with Lol as he talks her through her "story" was devastating.
Now..why has The Hour received such a drubbing?
Simply
Fantastic television.
Makes most other TV
look like amateur hour. Especially the nasty chav baiting nonsense before it.
The whole cast but particulary Vicky McLure and Thommo were outstsanding. Shaun struggling with the middle class dad from Hell (aka The Thick Of It's Julian Nicholson) and olives was just perfect.
Woody still obviously following Paul Weller's hairstyle is now in the Style Council Hitler fringe era
Lol's dad turning up in the mirror was bit of a cliche but so well done, who cares.
I live in Oz so won't see 88 until well into new year..
(lucky I have a computer then)