This Is England

In July 1983, we meet Shaun, a troubled 12-year-old boy living with his widowed mother in a nondescript area in the East Midlands. Alienated and often antagonized at school and in his community, Shaun’s painful journey begins on the last day of school when he gets into a physical altercation with a boy named Harvey. After Harvey mocks Shaun for his bell-bottom trousers and makes a hurtful joke about his father—who perished in the Falklands War—Shaun leaves in distress.

On his way home, Shaun encounters a gang of young skinheads led by Richard “Woody” Woodford, who offers him compassion and invites him to join their group. There, he meets Milky, the only black member; Pukey; Kes; and the overweight, slow-witted Gadget. Although there are initial conflicts, Shaun quickly forms a bond with Woody, whom he sees as an elder brother, and Woody’s girlfriend, Lorraine “Lol” Jenkins, who tends to him like a mother. Shaun also develops a crush on Michelle, nicknamed Smell, an older girl with a flair for the New Romantic style.

After one night at a party, the gang faces a harrowing ambush by a bald, tattooed man wielding a machete, only for it to reveal itself as a prank led by Andrew “Combo” Gascoigne, a former first-wave skinhead just out of prison. Combo, a charismatic yet unstable figure, starts pushing nationalist and racist rhetoric that alienates Woody, Lol, and others, creating tension within the group. When he brings up the Falklands War, Shaun reveals the truth about his father’s death, which Combo exploits to sway the impressionable boy to his side, ensuing a division in the gang.

Feeling an odd sense of fatherhood from Combo, Shaun navigates through Combo’s increasingly toxic leadership that involves attending a National Front meeting. On the way back, when Pukey questions their racist direction, Combo reacts violently, throwing him out of the car and subjecting him to a brutal verbal attack. The gang’s actions escalate as they vandalize property, intimidate neighborhood kids, and threaten local shopkeeper Mr. Sandhu under Combo’s orders, forcing Shaun—banned from the shop—to hurl insults in a fit of bigotry.

As Combo’s obsession with Lol deepens, his rejection sends him into a dark spiral. His envy peaks during a drug-fueled evening with Milky, where Combo’s bitterness leads him to brutally assault Milky when he learns of his happy upbringing. Shaun finds himself thrust into a horrifying situation where he tries to defend Milky, only to be violently tossed out by Combo, who soon realizes the grave consequences of his actions. In a moment filled with remorse, he weeps for Milky’s fate, and Shaun eventually takes him to the hospital.

In the aftermath, Shaun reflects on the turmoil and aggression surrounding him. In a somber scene, he gazes at a photo of his deceased father, contemplating the chaos that has engulfed him. His mother, Cynthia, reassures him about Milky’s condition, while Shaun’s journey culminates at the beach, where he casts his St George’s Flag—a gift from Combo—into the waves, symbolizing his determination to distance himself from the hatred and pain that had so deeply rooted itself in his life.

Last Updated: November 08, 2024 at 03:31