Cinema: Somers Town

El Capitan

28/08/08

Does Shane Meadows' sixth full-length movie come up to his usual very high standard?

Following on from the success of BAFTA-winning This Is England, director Shane Meadows’ latest offering Somers Town is a somewhat lacklustre show.

Meadows’ first film to be set outside of his native Midlands, Somers Town tells the story of the unlikely friendship between troubled teenager Tomo (Thomas Turgoose, who starred so unforgettably in This Is England) and mild-mannered Polish kid, Marek (Piotr Jagiello) and their quest for an unrequited love.

Having escaped a life of misery in Nottingham, Tomo travels to London to find a better life. Upon his arrival, he is mugged of all his possessions and is reduced to wandering the streets of a King Cross council estate – the Somers Town of the title. It’s here he meets Marek, the photography-loving son of a hard-drinking construction worker. Marek helps Tomo by smuggling him into his father's apartment and a friendship begins to blossom.

One of the major criticisms levelled at this film is that it’s funded entirely by Eurostar – and several obvious references to the train service are present in the film. While it’s not an outright promotion, it does beg the question – has Meadows started to sell out?

At just 72 minutes long, the story, though cute and with a few funny moments, really struggles go anywhere.

Check out the trailer below for a taster of the movie.