SOMERS TOWN

directed by shane meadows.

having been a fan of meadows' films for a while, i had tracked this new picture through production. the expectations were high as it had to stand up to films such as dead mans shoes and this is england. during its 72 minute run time it tells the story of two teenage newcomers to London. one of which lives in the Somers town area whilst his dad works on a rail network. the unlikely friendship begins in a cafe, where the two lads fall in love with a french waitress. it covers gritty issues such as homelessness, gang culture, working class london, imigration and racism yet the friendship somehow rises above their troubled life style. i often find with meadows' film, that nothing much happens, but this doesnt matter to me. the plot for somers town might seem bare, but the narrative, the clever casting and the imagery in the film makes each shot interesting enough to hold your attention. his other works deal with cutting issues, filmed in very damaging ways, as a result of this i constantly expected somers town to shock me and for the story to take a dark twist. it didnt happen, and reflecting on the film, it didnt need one.