By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Shane Meadows
Starring: Elisa Lasowski | Ireneusz Czop | Kate Dickie | Perry Benson | Piotr Jagiello | Thomas Turgoose
Country: united_kingdom
Year: 2009
Running time: 71
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172206/
Michael says: “Beautifully shot in black & white, Shane Meadows’ (THIS IS ENGLAND) latest film SOMERS TOWN is a sly look at two teenagers who become friends in working class London. Marek has recently arrived from Easter Europe and spends his days wandering around the neighborhood taking photos while his dad works. Tomo is a runaway who loses his money and belongings to a pack of thugs. The two bond over their shared love of a local waitress, and when Tomo finds himself homeless, Marek allows him to sleep in his bedroom, unbeknownst to his dad. Eventually Tomo is discovered and the two boys must face reality. Kate Dickie (RED ROAD) puts in a nice supporting role as a young woman who helps Tomo out when he first arrives in London. 4 cats”
Diane says: “Loved it. In the gritty Somers Town section of London, two friendless kids meet up–a quiet immigrant and a feisty newcomer from Nottingham. Helmer Shane Meadows brings back young actor Thomas Turgoose, who was non-pro in THIS IS ENGLAND. Boy, can that kid get on your nerves and under your skin. In this movie, he’s like the Cat in the Hat–you just know that if you let him in the house, all hell will break loose.
“I’ll nom this for Ensemble Cast, even though the cast doesn’t act together, but they are all outstanding: Marek; his laborer father;
Tomo; the entrepreneurial neighbor; the girl they both love. Another plus for this movie: it’s only 70 minutes. Shot mostly in black and white (hey, is there a trend here?–SINGLE MAN, MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY) with pleasing composition for each shot. Must be the 35mm that grabs the eye more so than MEDICINE, for instance. Ted liked the acoustic score by Gavin Clarke. 4 cats.”
Betsy says: “SOMERS TOWN is a small gem, short, but powerful and warm-hearted. I thought of it as a novella or a short story that really stays with you. There is potential for the story to get really disturbing, but it never does. This is a coming of age story, where the teenagers drift around and constantly get away with just enough, but luckily never enough to get truly burned. (I imagine there’s still time though – especially in Tomo’s case!) It’s London – filmed in black and white mostly and probably (I think
you are right, Amanda) the late 1980s, as the father is a construction worker on the Chunnel.
“Two boys – one a little toughie runaway, Tomo (Thomas Turgoose, previously seen in THIS IS ENGLAND); the other a shy Polish kid named Marek (Piotr Jagiello), team up in an unlikely pairing. It’s really hard not to take your eyes off of the expressive Tomo, even though he may be little sociopath/con artist in the making. When he begs and says ‘please’ everyone wants to give him money (to buy beer) or a ticket back home to the Midlands. It must have been really bad there, because despite getting beat up and robbed, there is no way he’s going home. Meanwhile, Marek is thoughtful, but lonely. He doesn’t always put up with Tomo though and tells him more than once to ‘stop being a baby’ which sounds great with his Polish accent.
“They develop crushes on a neighborhood waitress from Paris and get into a fair amount of trouble, before Marek’s Dad (Ireneusz Czop, who is really intriguing and I hope to see MORE of him) finally becomes aware of what has been going on right under his nose. I loved it, because I loved the way it captured a different slant on London. I loved all the accents – the counterpoint of Tomo’s English with Marek’s Polish, not to mention their eccentric neighbor Graham’s Cockney. The end – well it’s up to you to wonder if the ending really happened or if it’s just wonderful to imagine. Our viewers were somewhat divided, but no less amused. In any case, Go see it!”