pogoism

This Is England

I’ve been meaning to watch This Is England for absolutely ages, but finally got round to it this week. I had read glowing reviews of it, so started watching it with high hopes, but to be honest it did disappoint a little.

It’s a film that explores part of the skinhead movement in working-class England in 1983, and follows the story of one boy, Shaun. We quickly learn that Shaun’s dad was killed in the Falklands War. After being bullied at school one day, he runs into a group of older skinheads, and he becomes part of their group. Then, Combo, an older skinhead, returns to the group after serving a prison sentence, and radicalises the group into becoming anti-immigrant. A few leave the group, but Shaun decides to stay. Then, one night, they all get high, and Combo beats Milky, the only black member from the original group, and kills him, leading Shaun to question the movement.

Overall, it’s a very powerful and tense film, particularly with the use of original footage from the era, showing events such as the Falkland’s War, and speeches from Margaret Thatcher, grounding it in periodic authenticity. However, there were some cringy moments, like the ‘first kiss’ scene, and the story between Combo and his ex-girlfriend. Despite this though, it’s honest and true, and a great depiction of the skinhead movement.

I’d highly recommend you make an effort to see this, it’s one of the finest examples of British cinema out there.

XXY

I went with a few mates to QFT to see XXY, and none of us were really sure what to expect. I assumed the title referred to the medicial condition Klinefelter’s Syndrome, where the patient has the chromosomes XXY, as opposed to XX (for a female) or XY (for a male). This usually results in smaller testicles, and reduced or complete eradication of sterility. However, it quickly became clear that the film was not about this, as it was said that the main chacracter, Alex, is actually intersex (has both male and female genitalia).

Alex has been brought up her whole life on a cocktail of drugs and medication to keep her outward appearance female, but we learn that she has stopped taking her medications. Alex’s parents have moved her around a lot, to keep her from the negativity that could result, and have moved to a secluded location near the sea in Uruguay. Her mother, Suli, invites some of her friends, one of them a surgeon, from Argentina to stay to discuss the possibility of an operation. Alex has sex with Álvaro, the surgeon’s son. Then, some local men find Alex and forcibly pull Alex’s pants down so they can see her genetalia, but they decide not to report it to the police. Alex decides that she no longer wants to take the medication, or have an operation.

This is a very daring film, with the issue of intersex people rarely explored. I can only think of one instance, and that was (a very good) episode of Grey’s Anatomy. The filmmaker treats it very delicately and fairly. It is a truly beautiful film, with much attention paid to the characters emotions and the scenery. Perhaps the best thing about this film is the ending – there isn’t really one. Its annoying when you step out of the cinema, but with more thought, I realised that this is probably the best way, as for Alex, there isn’t really an ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, despite the subject not being what I thought it would be. However, my friends didn’t really seem to like it, so the verdict’s out…

The Dark Knight

Now, I have to admit, that I’m not really a fan of these comic-book films, and I went to this film reluctantly. I was wary that it was going to be a victim of it’s own hype, and not quite manage to cut it, and the length worried me somewhat.

How wrong I was.

What a fantastic film! The plot is somewhat long and complex, so I won’t go too much into it here, but it focusses on Batman’s (Christian Bale) fight with the Joker (Heath Ledger) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), and his affections for DA’s assistant Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal).

Heath Ledger really is as good as everyone is saying he is, on par with Hopkin’s Lecter, Christian Bale as Batman was good too. Everything about this film is marvellous!

Go see it, now!