This Is England '88

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Picking up two years where the last instalment left off, TIE '88 catches up with the characters that were left behind from last time, with Woody (Joseph Gilgun) trying to settle down with a new girlfriend and angling for a promotion at work, whilst still trying to come to terms with the fact that his former love Lol (Vicky McClure) has given birth to a child by his best mate Milky (Andrew Shim), whose return will mark an explosive reunion between the pair. Meanwhile, Sean (Thomas Turgoose) finds himself in a personal crisis after enrolling in a drama class, while Lol herself is locked in her own personal hell, struggling to come to terms with what she was forced to do to her father and the fact Combo (Stephen Graham) is currently serving time for her crime.

This entirely unexpected latest instalment in the This is England saga came pretty much out of nowhere for me, and would, in all fairness, have been wrapped up perfectly with the last part. There didn't even appear to be any sort of publicity or build up to it, like there was with the last part. Still, with this all in mind, writer/director Shane Meadows proves there's still a lot of inspiration to be drawn from the source material, even if this feels, and was even sort of billed as, a stop off point between the last one and the allegedly explosive final part in the shape of This is England '90.

The dramatic dynamic is maintained in the driving force of the different plot lines involving the different characters, which consistently delivers as it always has. Meadows has, as ever, put a lot of effort in to recreating the bleak, desolate landscape of the Midlands back drop he grew up in, and the rough, hard bitten characters it bred. While there's plenty of flashes of light interspersed into the story, it's main focus is getting down to the tough, nitty gritty hard hitting drama, and this, at times, is pretty tough to watch. There's even an element of horror present, all of it psychological and more towards the end than the beginning, but just adding to the stomach churniness of it all that bit more.

While it's good that all of this is present, there just doesn't appear to be quite the tough, meaty chewiness to the material than there was to the last part and the film, merely feeling like an extension of the last part and the characters in that, like an update and a prelude to the next part. The narrative also loses it's flow a little, with certain dramatic plot developments suddenly abandoned here and there and never explored further, meaning the story loses it's substance a bit. Still, even if this is just a preview of what's to come, it's still an effective and powerful one. ***

In 'This is England 88', Shane Meadows picks up the story of the group of young people whose lives he previously chronicled in a feature film and an earlier TV series. If I have to criticise this work, it's that it's structure is that of an extended coda to its predecessors; there's not much in the way of novel plot, and perhaps too many emotional "payoff" scenes, something Meadows does well but they have more impact when set at the end of a tauter, more defined story. But of course, such scenes are not the only thing that Meadows is good at. As usual, he gets great performances from his (mostly unprofessional) cast, and manages to make the bleak surroundings of working class England almost unbearably beautiful and affecting. This it top class television; but I also feel these characters, as brilliantly as they have bee brought to life, are now done.

Forget all the Christmas specials and seasonal 'bumper' editions of your favorite shows that usually fail to live up to the hype. This is the real deal.

In my opinion this is the finest ensemble cast to grace the small screen, offering us devastating highs and lows (cleverly, in some instances within the same scene) to send your emotional levels into overdrive. Vicky McLure continues her incredible portrayal as Lol, but bolstered by an incredible cast of English actors. Jo Gilgun, surely now part of the English comedy drama culture since picking up the mantle in Misfits is still firing out his deadpan comic delivery, tinged with a subtle cringing irony which is surely going to explode in future episodes. The haunting presence of Johnny Harris is still lingering in this show despite the incident last time, as the direction flashes on the verges of psychological horror. The rest of the flawless cast just shine without effort, and you wish you could spend all your time in their company despite the downbeat nature of the era.

Unsurprisingly the writing is assured, and the direction is awesome. For me though, It's McLure all the way. The performance of the year (again). Surely more awards are pending for this splendid programme and long may England live.

Get ready to cry, laugh and tie curling awkwardness. Just when you let your guard down and laugh. The next scene leaves you in anguish or tears. It's a master class in tragicomic relief. The settings put you right back in the 1980's, where kids and youth Rommedahl the streets. There are some absolute architectural "beauties" and prime 1980's dekor, That curbs any lurking nostalgia.

Loved every single moment of the film Shane meadows is a legend