This Is England Stunning
I just got back from seeing This Is England at the Belcourt with some coworkers. Hands-down, it is the best film I have seen in several years. The plot echoes deeply with today’s political and social situations. More than that, it portrays the deep sadness with which some childhoods are filled.
The movie is relentlessly taut with the threat of violence and despair just outside the corner of every frame, even during the film’s few comic turns. The pervasive disillusion emanates from the starkly crumbling environs, as well as, from the broken spirits and hearts that make up the film.
What some critics have called a formulaic ending is really an attempt at explaining how easily love and hate can seemingly inexplicably live within the same human being.
The film left me stunned and awed. The performances are real and engaging and serve to transform what is certainly a political film into a probing personal drama.
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