Spotlight - Best of British: Shane Meadows

The best thing to come out of the Midlands since... Noddy Holder?
Image courtesy of: filmmovement.com

One of our personal favourite directors over here at MGNC is none other than the infamously gritty British director, everyone's favourite skinhead since Phil and Grant Mitchell, yes, you've guessed it, it's Prime Minister of Grit Britain Shane Meadows.

The man is responsible for bringing us some of the most humane, fantastically written films about the lives of the working class, whilst simultaneously showcasing some of the crème de la crème of British acting talent (Joseph Gilgun deserves better than Emmerdale). Arguably the East Midlands equivalent of Martin Scorsese, his films are known for intimately showing us the breakdowns and the psychology of people and they are all undoubtedly brilliant.

We're taking this opportunity to enlighten you about this directorial great, because we have an ever-so-slight inkling that Meadows Fever is about to take over the country once more. As you should all be aware, the TV series This Is England '86 (follow up to his most well known masterpiece This Is England, obviously) has aired tonight on Channel 4. And in conjunction with this release, Film4 are starting The Shane Meadows Season from September the 8th showcasing some of his finest materials along with some never before seen short films about Shane's world.

Enjoy! We will.

One to Watch: This Is England '86

In 2007 we as a nation were treated to a fantastic piece of British cinema in the form of This Is England. An intimate look at 'Skinhead' culture in 1983, by none other than seminal Midland's director Shane Meadows. The film is a rites of passage story of Shaun (allegedly loosely based on Meadows himself), played by Thomas Turgoose (Somer's Town, Eden Lake). It was renowned for it's very close, realistic and intimate look at violence, racism, culture and the passionate, emotional lives of the people in Britain during the early 80's. The movie was a popular hit for the Brit-film scene and garnered a great reputation throughout the country, leaving lots of us eager for more. Well, now we won't have to wait much longer...

The Gang return 3 years on, just in time for the World Cup in Mexico '86
Image courtesy of shanemeadows.co.uk

3 years later comes 'This Is England '86'. It's a four part follow-up TV series to accompany the film, directed partially by Shane Meadows and partially by Tom Harper (MisFits) allowing us to once more look into the lives of Woody, Shaun, Lol (plus a few new additions) and all of the other wonderfully colourful and well written characters. There have also been promises made that the series will not be a carbon copy of the film, but it will in fact be quite different, with it's subject matter changing and moving on with the times- three years have passed, people have changed and I'm sure it will be absolutely riveting to watch. Hopefully with that should come promising new storylines and character backgrounds and hopefully plenty of laughs, tears and everything in between. (Plus the soundtrack should be pretty damn good too - Ed).

Though I for one can't wait to see the fantastic Stephen Graham (Snatch, The Damned United) reprising his role as National Front fanatic 'Combo', it'll be interesting to see how he has changed since the film, and I'm fairly confident he'll be responsible for causing his fair share of drama, which I'm incredibly excited about. So, UK viewers - look out for 'This Is England 86' coming sometime in September to Channel 4, it's definitely my one to watch for the coming month.

And if you're wanting more to keep you occupied until the series' release, then head on over to show's official webpage and check out trailers, information, behind-the-scenes footage and more! Just click the link to be taken straight there.

Best of British: The Waiting Room

The Waiting Room (2007)
Image courtesty of Amazon.co.uk

For the first of our reviews on British made movies, my girlfriend Sarah and I sat down and chose to watch 'one for the couples', and we both found love in 'The Waiting Room', the cinematic debut by television director Roger Goldby about the chance meeting of two people and the impact it has on their lives. Call me soft, but I thought the film was absolutely wonderful, at heart I'm a romantic, so a tale of love at first sight done well will do more than enough to keep my attention. The film follows the lives of Stephen and Anna and gives us an intimate look at what goes on behind closed doors. Anna is a single mother having having an affair with her next door neighbour's husband, he's infatuated with her but she is ultimately lonely in life. Stephen lives with his girlfriend and works at a care home for the elderly, everything seems sweet between them until his girlfriend suggests the idea of having children and with his uncertainty about the idea comes the cracks in their relationship. Then one otherwise normal day, Stephen and Anna are brought together in the waiting room of a train station and instantly make a powerful connection, from this moment onwards we are shown how this meeting effects their lives and the people involved with them. Still interested? I definitely was.

At approximately 101 minutes long, the film was an absolute treat to watch and didn't outstay it's welcome, although I couldn't shake the vibe it felt a little more like I was watching a TV series as opposed to film, but this wasn't a big problem and it shouldn't be for anyone else watching it either. Ralf Little (The Royle Family, 24 Hour Party People) plays the role of Stephen, the troubled  but loveable nice-guy, something which he does very well. There are some very touching scenes involving him and his care-patients, some of which, thanks to some beautifully 'real' writing, tugged at my heartstrings and admittedly I did shed a tear on a few occasions. For me though, the show was stolen by Anne-Marie Duff (Shameless, Nowhere Boy) in the role of Anna. She, in my opinion is an incredibly underrated British actress who I am yet to tire of watching. She's beautiful on screen, and always gives an incredibly natural and emotional performance. Her and Ralf form an excellent pairing, really aiding the film's sense of reality and even moreso, giving the viewer hope that the fabled 'love at first sight' really can happen in a world where life doesn't seem to deal you the best of hands all of the time.

Ralf Little and Anne-Marie Duff cross paths in 'The Waiting Room'
Image courtesy of Guardian.co.uk

The film has an incredibly warm feel to it, set under the bright skies and cool temperatures of the English Autumn, the colors on show are vivid and very comforting. When combined with stylish shots and a truly beautiful overlaying score written by Edmund Butt, the film's atmosphere is completely enveloping. With the right balance between subtle humour, heartwarming dialogue and thoroughly touching moments it's a must see for anybody who isn't afraid of love and it's many complexities. Plus it is proof that you don't have to turn to big budget hollywood hits filled with impossible gestures for romance, this is just as real if not moreso than some of the big RomCom names out there. Us Brits do romance very well, and this movie is all you'd need to convince anyone of that.

The Verdict

I'm giving 'The Waiting Room' a 6/10. It was a thoroughly pleasurable experience to watch, well written dialogue and fantastic acting all round, although more interaction between Little and Duff would've been much appreciated and that 'TV Show' vibe did niggle at me. The soundtrack is perfect for the film, and the setting is just right too, creating a really authentic 'feel-good' atmosphere. Definitely a must-see for any of you old romantics out there. So if you're interested in this delightful story of love, loss and everything in between then take my advice; Take a night off, buy a bottle of wine and a copy of 'The Waiting Room', then settle down on the sofa with your other half and simply enjoy this superb film, it has a much more general appeal to both genders unlike some of the key players in romance, so men needn't be afraid of watching this either. It's a perfect couple's retreat for the evening.