This Is England 86

(Spoiler alert)
Yes, i know, it's pretty late to be going on about Shane Meadows' mesmerizing four part series, This Is England 86, but I thought, 'It was so bloody good i've just got to do it justice.' So, here i am, first review of the blog, and I'm proud to make this series my first topic.
Episode one seemed to cause a bit of upset in that people felt it did not live up to the standards of the dark and mind blowing film. But, because I'm patient, and because i have faith in Meadows, i loved it. So what if it wasn't dark , it was a good introduction into the present lives of the charcters. Once episode 2 was shown, only then could i know whether me shutting up critics with a 'stop being a bunch of moaning bastards and wait' was right or not.
What do you know? I was right. Though it still wasn't quite as dark as the film, there were issues that gradually arose throughout which had potential to cause This Is England 86 to be a masterpiece, something that todays shitty telly needs. Lol, gorgeous as ever, and Milky (former geezer, sudden twat) having an affair behind Woody's (Legend) back, Harvey being subject to abuse at home, the return of Lol's suspect father in what proves to be a crucial scene, and Shaun's outburst at finding his mother in bed with his employer. Depression is what i look for with Shane Meadows' work, and i was well on the way.
 Episodes 3 and 4 were arguably the best in terms of what everyone expects from a Shane Meadows drama.  The moments of comedy are almost non-existent, apart from the fight between Shaun's lot and the moped muppets, and Gadgets little fling with Trudy. Even Woody managed to show a moment of true emotion in what was a great scene between he and Milky, where most of us viewing were undecided as to whether we wanted Milky to tell Woody all about the affair. He didn't, and I'm guessing its because he was as surprised as we were that Woody was opening up the way he did. The real performance came from Lol's father. The climatic scene between he and Trev is sickening and just awful to watch. In other words it's just why I defended Shane Meadows in the first place. And what a performance by Lol's father, 'wow' is all i can come up with as to how i felt after that episode, and the lines 'this can either be the best fuck of your life or the worst' just sum up the horror of that scene.
 Episode 4, even though he returned at the end of Episode 3, saw Combo come back. Arguably this was the most anticipated issue to arise for all who watched the film previously, and he didn't fail in his performances to give us what we all wanted from him. Episode 4 also saw what was another equally depressing but more chaotic scene, this time between Lol and her father rather than her friend. Powerful performances and a tense air due to the scenes improvisation gave it a real edge, and if it weren't for my dad screaming it i would've been shouting ' fuckin' 'it 'im!!' at the moment Lol reaches for the hammer. Then Combo appears, and Combo as we all knew him from the film was gone.  He seemed apologetic and ashamed, and not just in this scene but the previous scenes he shows up in at Shaun's gaff and at his recently deceased mother's flat. But despite what we have seen him do in the film, in the end we love him. I was particularly struck by the connection he and Shaun still had, he was almost like a father figure and i found that quite sad but quite significant in the context of role models and how they effect a child's future. Furthermore, Combo is still very much psychotic but we love him for what he does and says. ' Let me do something good.' he says repeatedly to a shocked and hysterical Lol, whilst offering to take the wrap for the murder of her psychotic father. Powerful Scene. Amazing is a word that sums up all aspects of this series. Top quality performances, a brilliant soundtrack, and Ludovico Einaudi once again delivering with the piano riffs to support the depressing scenes thorughout. Five stars.