60
Facile pop psychology is the real tragedy here, a double disappointment given the film's smart take on pop culture.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
90
It has the feel of a classic coming-of-age story. It's the sleeper of the summer.
75
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
Turgoose, in his first film role, is entirely convincing as the strong-willed but naïve Shaun, and Graham is a genuine fright as the feral prototype of the violent skinhead culture on the horizon.
75
British director Shane Meadows' strongest film to date is also his most personal: A stylish fictionalization of his own wayward youth, spent among a group of working-class skinheads in Thatcher's England.
75
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Sad, menacing, empathetic story.
90
The New York Times by Manohla Dargis
A modest, near-flawless gem, This Is England is the fifth feature by the young British director Shane Meadows, doing his best work since he first hit the festival scene in the mid-1990s with his hilarious, raw-hewn shorts “Small Time.”
91
Taut, tense, and self-consciously stylish.
75
The 34-year-old Meadows has assembled an effective cast, especially newcomer Thomas Turgoose as Shaun and veteran Stephen Graham as Combo.