Somers Town is Meadows' first venture outside his East Midlands stamping-ground. It has its lyrical moments, but I watched most of it through splayed fingers.
Comment
08/22/08
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
The latest offering from Shane Meadows has, like most of his others, received enormous critical acclaim; and once again, I don't know what he has done to deserve it.
08/22/08
There is some wonderful dialogue until you realise that, unlike Eurostar, the slim plot has no destination.
08/22/08
Thomas Turgoose reunites with writer-director Shane Meadows in this shaggy, endlessly charming dramedy set in working-class London, wistfully shot in black-and-white... Witty and warmhearted, it's a feel-good movie that never seems forced.
05/12/09
Another beautifully crafted film, as well as a great London film, from the finest British director working today.
08/22/08
Meadows' film oozes quality. The scripting feels natural and, thanks to long takes, Meadows is able to get the best performances from his young leads.
05/05/08
Somers Town is not Shane Meadows’ best film, but it has his finest qualities: an appreciation of British working-class life as detailed as Ken Loach’s, characterizations as realistic as Mike Leigh’s and an interest in adolescent male impudence and longing
07/15/09
At its best a winning anecdote of adolescent male awkwardness adapting to the big city.
05/01/08
However thin, the story of these rootless youths, estranged from mothers and native cities, has a certain universality and appeal.
07/30/09
Top Criticuses 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, 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
A small but important film about small but important lives, the latest drama from Shane Meadows further confirms that more people should know about this gifted director.
07/17/09
Meadows is adamant that there was no corporate influence. But even without the benefit of the doubt, it can’t be denied that his extended short carries some sweet observations.
08/22/08
Sweet...at times reminiscent of "Y Tu Mama Tambien."
08/06/09
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
Somers Town is gentle, funny, blue-collar humanism, much like the early films of Ken Loach.
09/03/09
Meadows 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
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
Turgoose 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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