This is England

I've just got round to catching up on the 'This is England 86' television series on Channel 4, and I have to admit that I'm quite disappointed with it. The original film was brilliant, portraying the times and problems facing skinheads at the time perfectly (or so I assume having not actually been born then). It was shocking, whilst also being incredibly realistic and the actors worked well within the script. I particularly liked the way that it was filmed quite 'messily' and made everything at that time look dark and dingy. It was also like a history lesson, bringing into light the wars on at the time and issues within politics.

Of course sequels are never going to be as good as the first film, however the hype that was set up around the series was a bit too much. I was almost upset that I wouldn't be in the country for the first show. It takes four hours of watching it, not only to depress you but also for you to realise that actually the actor's aren't very good at all. The best parts had been covered in the film, and by creating a new series it seems like they were just attempting to cash in on the success of the film rather than having new ideas to cover. I still like the way it's filmed, however maybe a bit too much of it is a bit too depressing in my opinion.

I did like the line 'we're not growing up, we're growing sideways'.