Somers Town
Cast: Perry Benson, Kate Dickie, Thomas Turgoose, Piotr Jagiello
Dir: Shane Meadows
Rating: 3/5
After the success of This Is England, which introduced audiences to Thomas Turgoose, director and his young star are back in his latest film Somers Town.
What originally set out to be a short has turned into this beautiful black and white movie that follows a teenage friendship in London and reiterates the message that Meadows is one of the best British directors currently at work today.
Tomo (Thomas Turgoose) has run away to London from a lonely, difficult life in the Midlands. Through a chance encounter he meets Marek (Piotr Jagiello), a Polish immigrant living with his father in Somers Town, central London.
Unknown to his father, Marek begins hiding Tomo in his flat and the two boys go on little adventures, stealing clothes from a launderette and earning money from an eccentric neighbour, Graham (Perry Benson) while sharing a growing obsession for Maria, the French waitress at their local café.
Adrift in an adult world, the two develop a mutual trust and acceptance through their unlikely friendship.
Without a doubt this film's strongest asset is it's two young leading men, in the form of Turgoose and Jagiello, as the pair are facing a new life in a big city as well as adolescent male akwardness as emotions for the opposite sex begin to stir within them.
But their friendship is warm and genuine and it drives the movie along. Turgoose really is a an acting gem and is a talent that should be watching over and looked after.
Shane Meadows has delivered a beautifully crafted movie and is just one in a long line of directors that has used the city around him to his advantage painting London is a very positive light.
And while the films looks at Polish immigration, despite not delving too deep into the subject, and follows the growing friendship of the two boys ultimately the plot really has no where to go. And unfortunately after seventy two minutes Meadows leaves the film with a lot of unanswered questions and a little too abruptly.
Somers Town is out on DVD now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw