This is England

A well-made and finely acted movie exploring skinhead subculture being subsumed within far-right race-hating ultra-nationalist groups like the National Front, and the paradoxical cultural roots it shares with West Indian culture, notably ska, soul and reggae music, but one I find repellant and almost impossible to watch through the attitudes and violence expressed by the leading protagonist, more so than almost any other film I can recall watching.  You could argue it succeeds in its ambitions by my very revulsion, but while the only sympathies lie initially with the teenage boy Shaun (Thomas Turgoose), though even he loses our understanding when he abuses the non-nonsense Indian owner of the corner shop, who is then beaten up by the vicious “Combo” (Stephen Graham – undeniably effective and committed.)  Combo it is who makes the case for his partisan beliefs in an impassioned speech from which the movie gets its name, but the thuggery, even against members of his own group, says far more.  6/10