7. This Is England
Shane Meadows' 2006 film focuses on the working- class Midlands of the mid-Eighties, providing both a study of skinhead subculture and the nascent nationalism that threatened to overshadow it. Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) is a scrappy twelve-year old who, feeling jaded and alone, falls in with a group of skinheads. When Combo (Stephen Graham), an aggressive and unabashed member of the National Front, is released from prison, he is introduced to a new boy that the group have nicknamed Milky (Andrew Shim). At a party, Shaun, Combo and Milky are smoking and lazing about upstairs, with Milky reminiscing on his West Indian upbringing. He speaks of a large, loving family - all the while Combo listening intently and offering an encouraging smile. And when Milky invites him round for dinner, you can see the tears forming in Combo's eyes; as though genuinely humbled, or as though what happens next is somehow beyond his control. Having heard enough of this idyllic life, Combo addresses Milky in a voice barely above a whisper, ''You've got everything, you, haven't yer? Got the whole f***ing perfect package, haven't yer?'' and now his line of questioning suddenly becomes somewhat accusatory. Shane can see where this is heading and tries to turn Combo away. But by now it's too late, and Milky, watching Combo grow increasingly agitated, draws out a wide, victorious grin. Combo lets loose a tirade of racial slurs, while repeatedly punching and stamping on his head. He then rushes a distraught Shaun out of the room before turning on the two other gang members who had been sitting by with an uncomfortable uncertainty upon their faces, as shocked by the attack as the rest of us. It's an incredibly hard scene to watch and, as the room falls calm once more, you're left there, mouth agape, as the film staggers to a close.