Was just reading about Sharon Turgoose who the film was dedicated to. She was the mother of the actor who played Shaun (the young lad), she died of cancer when he was only 13

The boy is from my way. He was a young kid going off the rails .............getting a part in this film turned his life around.

Didn't see it tonight but I've seen it before .................a bloody good film but somewhat disturbing.

Bloody wicked film... can't wait to see This is England '86 tonight.

Yep Soozy it certainly lingers on your mind afterwards.

His mum died before she could see the finished film in full C4 are airing a 4 part mini series called This is England '86, following 'Shaun' (Thomas Turgoose will still play the character) starting tomorrow night on C4 at 10pm. Looking forward to it

Me too (and ello! xx)

I hated it. It was a bit like watching officially sanctioned BNP propaganda which should have been left in the same past the film focused on.

Yes. Love it.



 Watched it with my partner at the time.

Didn't know it had been on tonight, I've seen it before though.  Looking forward to 86.

I'm beginning to wonder if my earlier comment was a bit OTT. It's been a while since I watched it. I'll have to watch it again, looking at the comments on this thread I'm wondering if I've got the right film 

Freeview's screwed up here so couldn't watch but saw it on DVD a few years ago with huge reservations expecting a typical British luvvie triumph over adversity film with stereotypical Northerners and sensitive souls like in "Brassed Off" or "Billy Elliot". 

I also thought 1984 was a bit iffy as 2 Tone/Mod/Ska and skinhead music and fashion had long died a death by 1984.

I was hugely surprised and thought the characterisation was excellent. In particular,  I thought Combo's character (although naturally unpleasant) was excellently written with depth and complex motivations, muddled politics instead of a one dimensional cardboard cut out racist that tend to be written into such characters.  I think the writers got into the mindset of a particular type of white working class racist skinhead in the 70s and early 80s who at the time loved reggae and soul music but culturally hated black people.

Maybe you have a pirate copy which is actually "This is Finland?" and you got mixed up.

I had seen it few months ago, quite a strong film.



I thought the ending was quite sad.

I agree with you Carnelian, the characters, whilst not sympathetic, did accurately portray that kind of working class kid that I remember from my childhood.

There was a good interview at the time where the guy who played Combo said he really had to think hard about taking the part as one of his parents is mixed race (I think he said his Grandfather is black...can't remember exactly...)

Finland is full of goths, trolls and people committing suicide, you'd be able to tell the difference.

It's his character that's sticking in my mind the most right now. That last part where you could see him getting more and more distressed (for want of a better phrase) as he was talking to Milky, I took it as deep down he was jealous of Milky's strong family bond and when he was invited for dinner it went against everything he was trying to preach. The more he was trying to go against people of colour the more they welcomed him with open arms kinda thing and he couldn't handle those demons of guilt and shame that were battling inside. (But that's just my take on it).


I'm not sure if it's a film I would want to watch again though, cos as much as it was absolutely brilliant and the acting was some of the best I've ever seen, it still shook my core a bit.

Combo crying after realising what he'd done and the kid throwing the flag in the sea. Deep.

Now why did am I not surprised you would say something like that! I disagree, they could have totally gone OTT about the BNP thing but they didn't. I remember the mods and skinheads back in the early 80's, with their swastikas sprayed on their long green coats and NF written on their arms, and the fights that used to break out between them and the black kids. (Asian children never played out or were out alone at anytime where I lived back then). I think the scriptwriters got it just right and I'm REALLY glad they managed to differentiate between racist and non-racist skinheads cos skinheads/doc marten wearers have been hugely stereotyped over the years as being 'typical' BNP/NF/EDL supporters.

I'll have to watch it again but I don't think they did. My actual memories of those days tell me categorically football thug/BNP/NF type skinheads were pretty much the only type of skinhead you were ever going to meet. I hung out with some of them, the football ones. They didn't beat me up because we were on the same side and even animals look after their own 

You're not wrong I was only 8 or 9 when all that stuff was going on but from my recollection I'm sure there was a difference between the footie skinheads who were racist and the footie skinheads who weren't. I'll have to ask someone obviously (a lot) older

Yeah...I grew up around a lot of skinheads and punks and stuff...some I knew (I was a bit too young, but know/am related to some..spesh with Mr L being old )  and while some were/are racist nobbers a heck of a lot weren't/ aren't.

I do get peed off that any white fella with DMs and tattoos must be a thug or a knuckle dragging tosspot coz that's far from the truth.

What about Redskins and SHARPS?

Though, to be fair to you, I have read that the Antifa type skinheads were more common in the North and Scotland? Dunno how true that is.  A lot of American skin-heads anarchists. too.

There was but you when you think about it, their aims were indistinguishable. Footy skins wanted to kick hell out of anyone who didn't support the same team as them, racist skins wanted to kick hell out of anyone with a different skin colour. Both animals really. Both with utter hatred and contempt for 'the other ones'. They were scary as hell, not just tribal but 'animal' in every sense of the word.

I remember there was a punk guy round my way called Ian who had a mahoosive mohican and he used to spray it loads of different colours and wear all the leather stuff and had piercings and that (and a chain from his nose to his ear which fascinated me). All the people his age were dead scared of him and most of parents used to hide their kids from him. One day when me and a mate were in the phone box trying to do a reverse charge call to Buckingham palace (cos we didn't have enough 2p's to make the call), my mate was smoking and he tapped on the window and told us off for wasting the operators time and grabbed the ciggy off my mate and stamped it on the floor and gave her a right ticking off about health. He then went to the launderette to do his nans washing. He was a really nice bloke!

Have you got a black eye recently btw?

ha ha ha love your failed plan to call Buckingham Palace!

It was around the time Charles married Diana (or he could have been engaged at that point), but I really wanted to speak to him about it

Awww My much older cousin was a punk, she got sent on a YTS course when I was about 4 or something in a factory, and she made me a stuffed bunny called Sid...he had a leopard print bum flap and and a kilt pin through his big bunny ear.

aww!

What did you want to ask him - for a wedding invite, to marry you instead, if they were having sausages on sticks at the reception,  something else?

Love your story about the gentle giant Karma . And on that bombshell... night all 

Night Prom

I made all my Sindy dolls into punks. They all got mohicans and where Lisa across the road had an array of glam Sindys my lot looked like the cast of Trainspotting.

Hi Karma - a little OT but I saw that you are going on morphine patches for pain control and just wanted to send you a huge hug and hope you are sorted soon xxxxxx

Awww ta I've never had them before but have heard good things so fingers crossed. But thanks x

I taped it Karma, heard it was good so am going to try and watch it tonight

It's fantastic LL, really deep and some really disturbing scenes that'll make you shudder, but it's just griity and hardcore and real.

Why are you sad?

The OH has seen it and said it is really good, so am looking forward to watching it later.  The spin-off is on tonight, so I better watch the film before that

I vaguely remember writing this last night.     
 Probaly put the smilie on by mistake due to to much pop, or the fact i am not with my ex now.

It's a brilliant film, I love gritty films such as this....very hard hitting...

My OH got me to watch it sometime back, up until then I'd never heard of it and was most surprised to see Eli Dingle in it

There's another film that's pretty gritty and violent that I also watched recently (if you liek the hard hitting kind of stuff), Dead mans Shoes it called...superbly acted...