A Room for Romeo Brass

This is a truly great film, not seen by enough people in my opinion, Shane Meadows is a breath of fresh air for the British film industry, and I won't hesitate to go and see his next film, on the strength, of his last two ( twentyfourseven, romeo brass ) While most british audiences are somewhat ignorant to quality films like this, and would rather watch overrated films like 'Lock Stock...' there is always a hardcore of fans for films like this. Shane Meadows is inspired by the likes of Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, possibly Britain's best independent directors, but Meadows adds a bit more 'cheer' to this film, who says its uncool to have a happy ending? Romeo and Gavin are twelve year old pals, who have a great understanding of each other, and their surroundings, but then their friendship is tested when Morrel ( Paddy Considine ) enters their life, at first he is a pal, but why is a grown man hanging around with two boys? he then wants to date Romeo's sister, little do they realise they are being drawn into a world of obsession, violence and desperation, will it all come good in the end? Watch out for the outstanding performance from Paddy Considine, it really is the best debut from an actor ever!

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

Previous to catching this I'd watched a little bit of the earlier critically acclaimed Meadows film, "24:7", enjoyed the portion I saw very much and then was rudely interrupted. Consequently, when I got the chance to borrow "... Romeo Brass" I was mildly excited, if a little unsure about what to expect. 90 minutes later I lay in bed incredibly satisfied. I had seen an example of British cinema carrying on the traditions of artists like Ken Loach. ".. Romeo Brass" is a stunning and disturbing examination of human relationships. The several tone shifts within the film are the result of steady direction rather than shoddy plotting, and Paddy Considine's remarkable performance as "Morell" more than compensates for some shaky rendering by a few of his co-stars.

Meadows here creates characters who are unfailingly interesting and rarely easy to predict. The film is a concentrated treasure-trove of wonders, and certain sequences will live with me through many future years of filmic consumption. After seeing this particular effort, I will now make it my mission to absorb everything else that Meadows has done in his career so far. So indeed should you. A marvellous film.

I had my arm twisted to go and see this and was knocked out by the unsentimental acting of the two central young characters (Gavin and Romeo), as well as the brilliant accuracy of the dialogue (uncertain, banal and lyrical portrayals of tenderness and callousness coexisting wonderfully well). But I want to take this opportunity to talk about the cinema in which I saw it. The Plaza Community cinema in Crosby is absolutely brilliant for showing this film. it is run by a highly dedicated group of volunteers, whose leader (Janet) saved the cinema almost single handed from the ravages of the developers. It shows a great variety of films and is the nearest thing Merseyside gets to the Cornerhouse in Manchester. keep up the good work Janet.

"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.