Somers Town is a small-scale jewel that will surprise you with its buoyant look at blighted lives.
Comment
08/28/09
Somers Town (2009)
96
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:46
Fresh:44
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: Shane Meadows hits the spot with this short but sweet slice of good natured comedy, surprisingly, as it’s essentially an extended black & white advert for a train station.
Theatrical Release:Jul 15, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: Two teenagers, both newcomers to London, forge an unlikely friendship over the course of a hot summer. Tomo (Thomas Turgoose) is a runaway from Nottingham; Marek (Piotr Jagiello), a Polish... [More]
Starring: Thomas Turgoose, Piotr Jagiello, Ireneusz Czop, Perry Benson
Director: Shane Meadows
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Reviews for Somers Town
Top CriticIf Somers Town were any more unassuming, it would risk disappearing completely. Seventy-two minutes long, in black and white, with a cast as starless as a cloudy night, it is a British triumph.
08/22/08
...Meadows' method of working with improvised scenes shot in long takes gives it a sense of emotional truth which is lacking in many more ambitious films.
10/09/09
It's a slight, gentle, sweet-natured comedy shot in black and white, and blessed with a lovely performance from Meadows' great find, Thomas Turgoose.
08/22/08
uses every second of his 70-minute runtime rather than adding on perfunctory storylines or resorting to expositional sequences
07/14/09
There are some laughs – but the jokes don’t come thick and fast. The film’s portrayal of friendship is always warm and sensitive.
08/22/08
Sweet...at times reminiscent of "Y Tu Mama Tambien."
08/06/09
Another beautifully crafted film, as well as a great London film, from the finest British director working today.
08/22/08
For all the sly humour, though, Somers Town is a hollow pleasure. It aspires to the new wave of London immigration thrillers by Stephen Frears and Anthony Minghella. But it’s not cruel enough.
08/22/08
Meadows gives his film so much forward thrust it feels like a road movie as it follows the ramblings of his two young leads.
08/30/09
An authentic sense of humour and a brightly rendered sense of hopefulness lend this film the qualities of a timeless cinematic classic.
07/11/08
Shane Meadows has been busily carving out his own corner in British cinema.
07/14/09
Top CriticSomers Town, shot in glimmering black and white, reveals a working class England that brims with possibility.
07/14/09
Sweet, poignant and with an undercurrent of wickedly funny humour, it’s not just a total joy but one of those rare films that can be savoured again and again.
08/22/08
Basically a comedy but with typically Meadowsian dark edges, it forms an affectionate tribute to cross-cultural friendship and the rapidly changing landscape known as Somers Town.
05/22/08
Top CriticMeadows has made a lovely film about the ability of the imagination to offset the harshness of reality.
07/15/09
Top CriticMeadows in a minor key but still a major delight; his improvised feel, sparky comedy and interest in the truth of youth services a story that's both winning and winsome.
08/22/08
As in all of Meadows's films, Somers Town emphasizes the importance of character and particularly of camaraderie amongst male characters--here, teenagers who nick clothes from the local laundry, get drunk in the park, and furtively investigate masculinity
08/08/09
Somers Town is a funny and endearing character comedy whose extra-brief, 70-minute running time proves perfectly adequate for its slender, episodic story.
08/07/09
Top CriticTurgoose continues to convince as a kid whose personality wavers daily if not hourly, while Jagiello playfully suggests that Marek is becoming the perfect straight man.
09/17/09
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