England Is Mine

What a disappointing pile of garbage. This film could have been so much more but all it did was take a few key events from wikipedia and make a movie. "If you have five seconds to spare, then I'll tell you the story of my life / Sixteen, clumsy and shy / That's the story of my life." The film was Clumsy in the making, shy in the facts and was a waste of more than 5 seconds of my life.

Let's set some axioms before we can appraise this work. 1) The Smiths were the greatest rock'n'roll band of all time. 2) Morrissey is the world's greatest living poet. From that axiomatic base, there can be nothing but high hopes for a film about Morrissey's beginnings. Sadly, this film is a non-starter on all counts, because any Smiths fan knows going into it that Morrissey has always refused to license the rights to the songs after that well-known 'How Soon is Now' debacle. Therefore, we can expect to hear none of the music and none of the lyrics. So, what is the point of making the film? The answer is, 'There is no point at all'. And what is the point of watching the film? The answer is, 'There is no point at all'. Let's get one thing absolutely clear; 'Control' this is not; '24 Hour Party People' this is not; 'Nowhere Boy' this is not. Suffice to say, a watchable, entertaining film this is not.

Manchester, 1976. Steven Patrick Morrissey is unemployed and depressed. He eventually finds work but it doesn't interest him. His only interest appears to be writing down his observations on life and people in a journal. We see his life over the next six years and how this period would have a bearing on his later life for, in 1982, he was to form The Smiths, one of the most influential bands of the 80s.

A fascinating subject. But then I am a Smiths fan and therein lies what will probably make or break the movie for most people: knowing Morrissey's subsequent history, spotting all the watershed moments, sensing how things that happen in the movie might influence his music - only Smiths fans would know it. The ending, especially, would seem rather cryptic to anyone who isn't one.

So, really only for Smiths fans, and even if you are one it takes a bit of patience. Can be slow-moving at times.

However, it is quite interesting and edifying and reasonably engaging. Performances are top-notch.

What would have made it really interesting is showing the formation of The Smiths and their initial struggles. But that would be a whole new movie in itself, I suppose. I'll wait for the sequel...

It is a good start i tell you that. Let's make it a trilogy: right after this its the smiths and the third is the solo. I wonder which One will be highest rating...

"England Is Mine" isn't a movie about Morrissey (the actor doesn't even look like him) or The Smiths. If you're looking for a film about them, you won't find it here (besides, like many other movies about real musicians, this one wasn't allowed to use real music either).

Who has not looked for a job and, at the same time, was afraid to find it? Who has not preferred to do anything instead of risking doing something for fear of succeeding? These, among a few others, seem to be the main questions of this film. It doesn't offer any answer, however.

If you want to see a guy rejecting all the women that are given to him, this is a movie for you.

The film could've been better.