Great New Movie - "THIS IS ENGLAND"

There's a new movie playing at the Fifth Avenue called "This Is England."

Go see it.

Powerful, funny and terrifying, it is among the best movies Ive seen in years.

The plotline is described on the IMDB website as follows:

"A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows."

Maggie Thatcher's War in the Falklands in the ever-present background.

All of the actors are spot-on, but the Thomas Turgoose, playing the boy, and Stephen Graham, playing the central bully character, "Combo," are astonishing. Graham in particular is the most captivating screen presence I've seen since Brando. His "This is England" soliloquy early in the film is breathtaking. Later, he tries to express his "love" for a girl he date-rated when she was 16 and drunk. Not many actors can give you this range and complexity.

As often happens with British movies, the actors do not appear to be acting; they seem at once to be merely "found," real people that have been accidently filmed.

Don't miss this one.