They throw a party later and Shaun, who is smitten with an older girl named Smell (Rosamund Hanson), goes out to the shed with her to make out (and then some). While he is outside, Combo (Stephen Graham) crashes the party. Combo is out of jail and is an old friend of Woody. At first everyone is happy to see him, until he starts making racial comments that offend Milky (Andrew Shim), who is black.
Combo gets the group together later and starts on a rant about how the country is going to shit and they need to do something to stop it. He brings up the Falklands War and how it is a stupid pointless war, which offends Shaun. Shaun's father died in that war and when he hears Combo bad-mouthing it, he takes a swing at him. Combo is impressed and sympathizes with Shaun. He tries to take over the group by making them choose if they want to take a stand and bring back England to it's rightful people. The group splits, half going with Combo and half with Woody.
Shaun chooses to go with Combo in hopes to make his father proud. He starts to look up to Combo as a father figure. They are pretty much inseparable. One day, Combo gets Woody's girlfriend Lol (Vicky McClure) alone to talk. He confesses his love for her and how the thought of her got him through his prison time. In return, she says that the night they spent together was the worst night of her life. Upset, Combo goes to Milky to buy weed. Although it starts out friendly enough, things take a drastic turn when Milky starts talking about his family.
I've been wanting to see this film ever since my old roommate showed me half of This is England '88 and was scared by the creepy deep breather (you'll have to watch to find out what I'm talking about). And since I forgot most of what '88 contained, it was great to see this from a fresh perspective. The relationship between Shaun and Woody/Combo was great. You can see the admiration he has for these characters shining through his eyes. Shaun in general was an amazing character from the get go. Sure he was kind of funny looking and a loner and a little bit of dweeb, but this kid won't take shit from anyone. I loved watching him the entire time. It was a little awkward at times though. Like his relationship with Smell. I have no idea how old she is suppose to be, but when you're more then a head taller than your boyfriend it's just weird. There were great bits of dialogue in there and the people seemed so genuine that I wanted to be their friends. Well, I wanted to be part of Woody's crowd anyway. And since you immediately like the characters, you are right there in the story with them and feel what they are feeling. I wish I knew more about Britain's history so I could understand all the little cultural trademarks or statements or even about the Falkland Wars (I feel dumb). The cinematography was great. They had beautiful wide shots that showcased a different look to England that we may not be familiar with. When they say that film is a visual storyteller, they are right and this movie did not disappoint.
Rating: ****
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