66 Essential British Films To Take Your Mind Off The World Cup
19. This Is England (2006)
Having drawn upon incidents from his own life in his previous films, with This is England Shane Meadows presents something all the more autobiographical, based around his own teenage experience of joining a gang of local skinheads. His closeness to the material shows and Meadows manages to capture the period with the assuredness of someone who was actually there. With the two television sequels This is England '86 and '88 soon to be joined by '90, This is England is slowly turning into his magnum opus.
18. Gregorys Girl (1981)
Anybody who has grown up in a small town and gone to a comprehensive school can identify with Gregory's Girl. Bill Forsyth's film is a naturalistic comedy portrait of first loves and the awkwardness of youth. John Gordon Sinclair's gawky teen Gregory has you rooting for him all the way as he pursues the affections of Dee Hepburn's female star of the football team Dorothy. British summer never looked so good as it does lying down in a Cumbernauld park dancing with Claire Grogan.
17. Dead Mans Shoes (2004)
The most gut-wrenchingly affecting of all Shane Meadows' films. Dead Man's Shoes is another look at the darkness that lurks away in small town estates. Meadows' third feature is a return to familiar thematic territory after an excursion into lighter fare with Once Upon a Time in the Midlands. Paddy Considine is again exceptional in the backwater revenge narrative. Also notable for including one of the most startlingly authentic drug scenes ever committed to film.
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