A Room for Romeo Brass

Shane Meadows is fast becoming one of the finest directors to come out of England, his films have such an earthy quality to them it's very hard to imagine that any Englishman can not find one film from his output that they can't identify with. Be it thematically or character wise. Meadows is the man from the street laying out his stories with honesty and gusto awareness. Whether Meadows will ever break out and be a hit outside of the British Isles is highly debatable, his Dead Man's Shoes from 2004 was well received away from his home shores, but you would be hard pressed to find anyone in American multiplexes (for example purposes only) who could tell you who he is, which for a director who has his finger firmly on the pulse of characterisation, that is a crying shame.

A Room For Romeo Brass is the tale of two teenage boys who during a fight with some bullies meet gangly loner Morell, as Morell starts to take an unhealthy obsession with Romeo's sister, their friendship is pulled apart, but this is merely the start of Morell's impact as he is about to explode into both of the boys already fractured families.

That's all you need to know really, for there is no more to tell, and this is one of Meadows's main strengths, there are no hidden agendas, no allegories of wars, this is just an everyday English housing estate with two families awash with everyday characters. Just how often do you see a loner in your neighbourhood? They are there, are they all like Morell? Well it may be best not to find out eh?

Paddy Considine makes his film debut here (thankfully he is now a name across the waters), and his turn as Morell is as scary as it is sad. Anyone who was impressed with his turn as the vengeful Richard in Dead Man's Shoes will be well rewarded here. A young Andrew Shim as Romeo grabs the role with sizzling vitality, a character calling for strength of nature whilst layering in a heartfelt slant that the story benefits from. I must mention big Frankie Harper (Dog in Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels), playing Romeo's estranged father, he gets it absolutely note perfect and I was delighted to see Meadows give him the film's crowning moment.

A film that opens with The Specials and closes with The Stone Roses should always appeal to an English heart, but lets get Shane Meadows' work out there to the masses, for here is a man who even gives an end credit mention for the man who turned on the generators, a man making films for the people, about the people in our midsts. 8/10

This film is a must see. This film gives further evidence that the industry is starting to once again, ever so slowly, support the independent or "left-field" films. In fact, support any film that has a DECENT story to tell and something to say.

Besides being a funny musing on friendships - Romeo and Gavin are best of mates, yet rarely say anything 'nice' to each other - in the best of British humour, it also contains perhaps one of the most frightening characters to be seen in a film in a very long time. The climax to this film will have your jaw hanging somewhere around waist-level. Patty Considine as Morrel is amazing, having a sort of hair-trigger eccentricity that pushes him, at the slightest touch, from lovable loner to something much much MUCH darker. The shot that Meadows includes of Morrel alone in his house crying, pulling back to reveal a sort of gas canister makes you wonder exactly what is going on in his head. FANTASTIC!

While Meadows is prone to indulge in the good old "finger-picking-guitar-music-over-shots-of-sombre-people" method of setting a mood, and does it fairly often, he can be excused EASILY by the power of this film, blending a PERFECT mix of humour and drama.

In my view, I'd pay 5-times the admission price for the climax alone

This film reminded me of how powerless you are as a child - just being outside can get you into a fight, while adults, who often have no right to, can have control over your life. It reminded me how children can "break" or "make" friends so easily, with past grievances forgiven and forgotten in a few seconds. Adults tend to find that a lot harder to do.

I watched this film without knowing anything about it, so perhaps I found the scenes where Morell threatens the two boys on different occasions to be extremely shocking (incidentally, the swearing which is almost constantly present in the film is NOT shocking in the slightest).

The main thing that I got from the film was concerned with how masculinity is defined - Morell tries to teach Romeo Brass how to be a "man" via weird survivalist techniques - violence, macho posturing, being able to take care of yourself seem to be the ways that masculinity is mediated. The bragging and posturing that occurs in the fights between Morell and the boy's fathers seem to mirror an earlier fight between the boys and two other boys who are playing football at the beginning of the film - "are you trying to start a fight?" "No, I AM starting a fight". It was interesting that Knock-Knock's father and Morell were both wearing almost identical shell-suits in the violent climax scene.

While this was technically a good film, I found it to be much more disturbing than Zombie Flesheaters or whatever, because of its realism.

It was so pleasurable to watch this lovely film about the quest for friendship and loyalty in an often cruel and punishing world. Meadows has been described as a Midlands Scorsese; however, to my mind there is a vein of sweetness, naivete, in Meadows' work, as in the man himself, that is absent from Scorsese's films. He captures, with reason - since much of his material is autobiographical - the jocular and tender aspects of working class life while rendering vividly the violence that can also lurk there. His dramas are always holding and infinitely endearing in a tough minded way. In this film, Meadows' love is obviously directed at the valiant and caring mothers, but he allows the fathers of the boys, who appear never to get it right, to finally redeem themselves, each in his own way.

In talking with Shane Meadows, I learned that he recruits his actors from the 6 - 20 year old group of actors in his town, and that he is very proud of the fact that, by this means, he can help them take a step toward extricating themselves from their hard lot in life. Shane Meadows is a survivor and an artist, one who has the heart and the enormous ability to give heart to others who must still find their way. Bravo!!!

"A Room for Romeo Brass" starts with a funny sequence as we watch Romeo and his friend Gavin walking through town and as they arrive at the fish and chips shop, Romeo asks for a large family order, which he proceeds to devour by himself, as he has no intention of sharing his meal with his friend Gavin. When he arrives home he hands his mother and sister two small packets of whatever he hasn't eaten.

Shane Meadows, the director, and co-writer of this surprising small film knows a thing, or two, about young boys and the way they act toward one another. As it turns out, both Romeo and Gavin are neighbors and they are supposed to be best friends.

When Gavin, who seems to be handicapped, and walks with a limp, is attacked by the soccer bullies, Romeo comes to his aid, but he is overpowered. Out of nowhere comes Morrell, who defends the boys and send the tormentors packing. This savior is a man who is much older and doesn't fit in the picture. A bit later on in the movie, we know why he wanted to get closer to Romeo, especially, he craves for the beautiful Ladine, his sister. In pursuing the girl, Morrell is instrumental in separating the two friends.

The main reason for watching this film is Paddy Considine's work in it. Mr. Considine is a versatile actor who gives here a tremendous performance as Morrell. The young actors, notably Andrew Shim, and Ben Marshall appear to be naturals. Vicky McClure is good as Ladine.

It took a while to get used to the accents, as some of the dialog was lost. Shane Meadows is a new talent with a lot of promise and we look forward to his new ventures.