Somers Town

Conceptualised by Mother Vision, this film, set at the time of the construction of the Chunnel, reunites director Shane Meadows and actor Shaun Turgoose (This is England). Gavin Clarke is responsible for the film’s thematic soundtrack that consists primarily of mid-tempo acoustic rock sung by Clarke and often reflective of the mood created by the images.

Somers Town is by all appearances a district in urban London (within Arsenal FC's catchment area), and those who didn’t know find out that it is a real place when it is acknowledged in the final credits. The significance of the use of a real place is not clear to me, but perhaps it is the site of the Chunnel entrance in England. The characters have typically ended up in Somers Town having previously lived elsewhere. Of primary importance to the story are a Polish father and son, and a young free-wheeling dynamo from Nottingham, (which, he points out, is in the midlands) played by Turgoose . A notable exception to the immigrant status of many characters is Perry Benson’s geezer with a heart of gold, who is typically involved in the film’s humorous moments. Similar to the attitude of the filmmakers themselves, Benson’s character is ostensibly unconcerned with the why’s and wherefore’s behind the peripatetic characters’ arrival in Somers Town and, in general, lasting bonds are rapidly formed between the main characters without much ado.

Turgoose’s character is old but not wise beyond his years and, while a survivor, is definitely the fall guy in his onscreen double act with Marek, a lonely Polish teenager saddled with the domestic responsibilities while his father works on the Chunnel. It is tempting to speculate that the film’s events evolved around a few key plot points. That is to say, we get a growing sense that the actors, particularly Turgoose, are given increasing freedom as these key points are ticked off the storyboard. This deteriorates to the point where we get a strong impression that Turgoose is laughing up his sleeve, playing to the unseen gallery of filmmakers and crew. This larkish mood diminishes the impact of the serious nature of the heart to heart between the Polish pair, when Marek breaks out of the laddish dynamic he has hitherto had with his father, and reveals his emotions. By contrast, around this same time, Turgoose’s character, wearing a dress, and Benson’s, are shown in the latter’s flat ironing out the provisos by which the two will share the flat. Throughout this scene a mannequin, an artefact of the geezer’s wheeling and dealing, is seen in the background, its middle finger erect. In my opinion this frattish comedic touch is misplaced.

The filmmakers have something to say about nationality and male dynamic (there are only two female characters). There are funny scenes and the vernacular translations of the non-English dialogue is a nice idea. The filmmakers have created an impressionistic work without great regard for consistency and formalism (the epilogue, the only segment not filmed in monochrome, is particularly ropy). It is safe to say that plot is not uppermost in the filmmakers’ intentions. At the film’s conclusion, two main characters are in love with the same girl. Such a scenario is usually undesirable in life, and doesn’t impress in this plot-line either.

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