This is England Review *Spoilers*

In this post I will be reviewing the early clip within "This is England" where Shaun, the main character,  meets "The Skinheads" who are a group of mates that adopt Shaun into their group and who's group become the main focus of the film, as Shaun becomes involved with drugs, theft and even death.

 

With the early clip of this extract, after the title sequence, it shows Shaun walking through the town he lives in, although this scene appears to be just a space filler it is important as not only does it show the time period that the film is set in but because it shows the "state" of the area surrounding Shaun, it shows the area as a lower class area covered in vandalism and grime.

during the first key moment within This is England where Shaun and the Skinheads first meet Shane, the director, uses a long shot to show the characters, I feel this is so it shows the difference between characters better than a mid or close up shot would, by capturing all the characters in one shot you can easily notice the not only costume difference but the character postures as well, I feel it helps us see how Shaun is unlike the "Skinheads" as not only do they wear "defiant / punk" outfits whereas Shaun wears a "Good boys" attire to show his childishness and dependence.

After the first encounter with the "Skinheads" Shanes use of camera techniques becomes the main method of representing the growing bound between the group. As the scene begins with a long shot to show the difference as Shaun becomes more connected with the group it heads to the mid shots the close ups, this represents the growing bond and makes the viewer feel more involved with the story.

 

I feel that if we use the same technique of involving the audience through a change in camera shots that we will be able to slowly make the viewer’s understand "Toby" and become more sympathetic towards him.