Midweek Mention... This Is England

On this episode of Bad Dads Film Review, the team reviews This Is England (2006), Shane Meadows’ raw, semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama starring Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Vicky McClure, Joe Gilgun, Andrew Shim, Rosamund Hanson, and Jack O’Connell.In this episodeRecording outside the man cave in brutal heat, with England playing later and possible background birdsReturning to Shane Meadows after the dads’ love for Dead Man’s ShoesMeadows writing from lived experience and Shaun Field as a loose version of the young Shane MeadowsThe film’s 1983 setting: Falklands aftermath, Thatcher-era mood, working-class Midlands anonymity, and immaculate period detailShaun’s grief over his father’s death and the brutal school bullying around his clothesThe infamous Mini joke, the playground fight, and Reegs’ detour into the real-world Mini passenger recordWoody’s gang as surrogate family: underpass tea, derelict-house “hunting”, haircuts, boots, braces, and the gifted Ben ShermanSkinhead culture before the racist takeover: ska, soul, punk, clothes, belonging, and styleSmell, the shed snog, New Romantic fashion, and the very awkward age-gap discussionCombo’s entrance from prison and the immediate tonal shift from funny coming-of-age story to something threateningStephen Graham’s performance as Combo: vulnerable, pathetic, charismatic, manipulative, racist, and terrifyingCombo gaslighting Woody, exploiting Shaun’s Falklands grief, and splitting the gangThe National Front meeting: respectable presentation, simple blame politics, Frank Harper’s speaker, and Gadget’s “NASHNIL” spellingShaun’s corruption under Combo: racist intimidation, the corner-shop robbery, and the stolen language of national prideLol rejecting Combo and the emotional humiliation that turns outward into violenceMilky and Combo bonding over music and roots before Combo’s jealousy eruptsThe brutal beating of Milky, Shaun being forced to watch, and Combo’s immediate collapse into remorseShaun throwing the St George’s flag into the sea as a rejection of the racist version of EnglandThe continuing relevance of the film’s politics from 1983 to 2006 to nowStrong recommendations for the follow-up series: This Is England ’86, ’88, and ’90Bad Dads consensusSidey: Strong recommend — sees it as at least a 9/10 and reads the final flag moment as Shaun rejecting the National Front’s corrupted version of England.Pete: Strong recommend — praises the film’s lived-in authenticity, performances, and the follow-up series; still holds Dead Man’s Shoes as a 10/10 comparison point.Reegs: Strongly positive — highlights the bleakness, the current relevance of the racist rhetoric, and Stephen Graham’s frighteningly layered work.Cris: Engaged with the period detail, humour, and discomfort of the film’s tonal shift, particularly once Combo arrives.Final takeThis Is England begins as a warm, funny, scruffy story about a lonely boy finding friends, then slowly reveals how easily grief and poverty can be weaponised by people offering simple enemies and ugly certainty. It is beautifully observed, brilliantly acted, deeply uncomfortable, and still horribly relevant.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads