Shane Meadows research- Film 4

A room for Romeo Brass- Film 4 review

Any faint glimmer of light at the end of the dim tunnel of 1990s British cinema rests with a handful of British directors, including Shane Meadows. The boy from Nottinghamshire has progressed from his debut (Twentyfourseven) with an equally sympathetic but more accessible drama about young people.

Romeo (Andrew Shim) is a teenager with a good pal in Gavin (Ben Marshall) who needs a back operation. Romeo's dad isn't much in evidence, possibly a good thing for his put-upon wife, and the two boys - dependent on each other - meet an older guy, Morell (Paddy Considine - in perhaps the first of his truly great performances), with initially comic then darker consequences.

Shane Meadows's calm approach results in intelligent and committed filmmaking.

Twenty Four Seven- Film 4 Review

That's twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to the rest of us, who observe the bleakly repetitive lives in a working-class town in Northern England. Shane Meadows feature debut springs out of a tradition of thirties' British documentary and the 60s-so-called realist cinema, brought up-to-date with elements of rough humour and abrasive language.

Bob Hoskins stars as a former boxer who initiates a club for youngsters only to find that it's not just the physical aspects of their lives they carry into the ring, but psychological problems and enmity. The need for such an inhuman sport as part of the solution remains unexplained.

Worth a look, particularly in light of what this director would later go on to achieve.

This Is England- Film 4 Review

At 12-years-old, and young-looking even for his age, Shaun Fields (Turgoose) looks hardly capable of breaking and entering a boiled egg. As elder skinhead Combo (Graham) jokes, he looks like "he came out of a box, like an Action Man, or Barbie doll". Shaun's loss of innocence is at the heart of Shane Meadows' most autobiographical work to date (notice how 'Shaun Fields' deliberately echoes 'Shane Meadows'), along with ever-relevant subjects like absent and surrogate fathers, Western imperialism and white working-class marginalisation, particularly in the post-industrial suburbs.

Right on time, the film also addresses the biggest flashpoint issue of the day; an incipient racism virtually legitimised under recent governments and in sections of the press, stoking anti-Muslim sentiment. This Is England packs a lot into its 100 minutes, but never feels hectoring. Therein lies its power. Not to mention a terrific, danceable soundtrack, laid down with love.

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A brilliantly conceived zeitgeist-surfing dispatch from one of the most vital directors working in Britain today.

SHANE MEADOWS:
Born on Boxing Day 1972, Shane Meadows has risen to become one of the UK's most beloved and respected film-makers, staying true to the humour and vision that have made his films so popular from the beginning of his career.