A Masterpiece!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This is England in my opinion is a fantastic franchise. It delivers, Dramatic tension that no other show on television would. It's a perfect representation of the 80's, perfectly acted, and perfectly directed. If you are looking for a gritty British Drama, then This is England is certainly for you.It starts off three years after the original film, with Shaun, Woody and Lol abandoning there skinhead selves. It's the day of Woody and Lol's wedding, and all seems well, that is until woody turns down the marriage and Meggy, former skinhead, and gang member has a heart attack. From here, we get shocking, and horrifying scenes, funny fights, and a whole dose of Shane meadows goodness.

Shane Meadows captures the epoch of the 80s Britain like no other director. I have never seen the 80s captured in such detail; its not just the characters and political references, but the very small details like curtains, blankets etc. Check the shots of the flat blocks, brings a chill to my spine as its so nostalgic. There is a lot of production value in the sets as well as iexcellent actors performances. He has moved British cinema forward in the vein of Mike Leigh, Ken Loach and Irvine Welsh etc. America has indie cinema and Britain has the melodrama I guess; two very different styles but both focusing on family and social relations predominantly. The This is England series deals with two of the most difficult themes you could possibly imagine but does it brilliantly. I think what marks his work above other directors is the sheer brutal force he approaches the subject matter, and the emotional attachment he develops between the audience and his characters simultaneously. This is a monumental achievement and cant remember another show which moved me to the extent this one did, which had led me to write my first review here on IMDb

I was a 16 year old skinhead in Sydney Australia back then in 1986 and this pretty much sums it all up. A heap of kids from broken homes coming together. Rather than drugs it was drinking, music and each other. Skins, Rudy's, Mods, Rockers we all came together. There used to be soccer matches with all the sub-cultures it was a great time. This is perfect because it shows skinheads as they were not seig hailing nazi boneheads. I hope this series is extended it is a prefect reflection of that era. The characters are perfect and the different sub- cultures portray. Even in 2011 bands from that era are enjoying more success today then back then.

Shane Meadows is in my opinion the finest film-maker in England today, with his tragi-comic, poetic portraits of the English working class. The prospect of a television spin-off of his movie 'This is England' thus prompted excitement but also reservations - there's certainly enough material for a follow up, and with Meadows' involvement, the quality can only be high - but sometimes a story is told and does not need extending. This series is set at the time of the football world cup of 1986, and there's already been talk of another one set in 1990 at the following world cup: might this all be too much of a good thing? On watching it, there are indeed odd moments when the series indeed feels flabbier, less essential than the original; and the occasional lapse towards 'Shameless' territory. But in the main, this is excellent stuff. Thomas Turgoose, the star of the original, is less central here, but still steals every scene he is in; but all the characters are great, including man-child Woody and Vicky McClure's Lol, around whom the plot rotates. The football link is handled lightly, and the final, Meadows-directed episode cumulates in a horrific portrayal of an attempted rape and its aftermath that is handled with an extraordinary grace (unlikely as that word seems to describe the depiction of such an event). Meadows' films aren't loud, but he cuts to the raw edge of human vulnerability like few others; this is easily the best T.V. series of the year, and an important alternative view to the received wisdom on the Thatcher era.