Customer Reviews

Somers Town

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Somers Town (2008) is fresh and lighthearted coming of age story that has real-life charm and drama. It is serious yet fun look at growing up. The people you meet and the situations you get into, as well as your dreams, truly shape who you are. Being filmed in black and white gives it a clean feel that enables you to focus on the events and characters without distraction. The original music by Gaven Clark is refreshing and perfectly fits the style of the film.

Tomo (Thomas Turgoose) has just arrived by train in the Somers Town area of London after leaving his hometown of Nottingham. He is an extremely open and chatty young man that befriends a lady, Jane, on the train. Meanwhile, Marek (Piotr Jagiello) is walking with his dad (Ireneusz Czop) to his job where he is working on a new track for the train. Marek goes off on the town taking photographs along the way. That evening Marek and his dad head home for some diner that Marek cooks up in their cramped kitchen. They enjoy each others company and have fun and open chats about life while learning the English language. They moved from Poland looking for a new start after his marriage failed. The shy and reserved Marek takes to the streets again to photograph at night after his father goes out for a nightcap.

Tomo is out on the streets trying to get someone to buy him some beer. With only an army style duffel bag and the clothes on his back he is in for a rough road to make a life in London. When he is relaxing some local kids come upon him and start slightly pestering him for a drink and start bothering him a little - after they finish his beer he attempts to get away. They catch up to him in the ally and beat him up really bad and take all of his things. With no money or clothes and nowhere to turn he looks up Jane (Kate Dickie) from the train. She buys him lunch and gives him a little cash to get the train back home to where he ran away from.

Tomo spots Marek looking and some pictures in the restaurant. He is taken back by the beauty of the women in the photographs, as is Marek. Marie is from Paris and works as a local lunch spot. The two quickly become friends and start what will become a very memorable summer of their younger years. They meet Graham, who is an odd neighbor that recruits the boys to help him with a little venture of his and offers life guidance. Without his dad's knowledge Marek has Tomo staying in his room with him. They spend their days pining for Maria and just being teenagers in London.

9 out of 10 - I really liked this movie. The true to life and sometimes crass script is flawlessly acted by the cast. It has a soothing quality and the moments of difficulty offset by funny situations bring this film together so well. I wish the movie never ended; I even watch it again a couple days later and enjoyed it even more. Shane Meadows directed this amazing movie. This is a wonderful film for just about everyone to watch - be sure to pick up this independent film when it comes out on DVD in December.

Dain Binder
Dain's Movie Reviews
[...]

3.8 stars

I enjoy the Film Movement concept, and this is another small, low-budget movie worth a view for fans of this sort of coming of age flick. The two leads are solid, the film shot in pleasingly grainy black and white until near the end, and it's a sleek 70 minutes. The story and locale are both pretty bleak, featuring council block flats and that sort of Dickensian feel that London delivers so well. But there are rays of light, not only in the central friendship but, somewhat uniquely, in the single father and his son's connection, which is both realistic and free from the standard tropes. No beatings or abuse, just two guys trying to understand each other with respect. Very nice.

Some decent humor, plenty of quiet irony, and an oddly pleasant dour feel make this worth watching for fans of smaller, mellow character studies.

This film has some charming aspects. Not usually a fan of b&w, this was shot with wonderful crispness and clarity. And the color at the end is, of course, highly symbolic. It's a coming of age film from a novel perspective of different cultures and experiences, and has some sweet moments. I thought I'd enjoy it much more than I did; for some reason, I never really connected with it to the point of deep interest.

Set in North London, Shane Meadows' moving drama tells the story of the friendship between Marek, a Polish immigrant teen, and Tommo (Thomas Turgoose of This Is England fame), a Midlands runaway. With physical/emotional absence of the parents, the boys form a strong bond, covered with teenage bravura.

With good humor and warmth, this is an enjoyable coming-of age drama (and lighter then Meadows' previous works).

i really liked this movie and thought it was one of shane meadows best. if you liked a room for romeo brass you will like this one too. a great movie with a great story. highly recommended

A surprisingly sweet look at a friendship that develops between too lonely teenage boys. The ending is absolutely heart warming.

A well-behaving catholic teen son of a Polish migrant slavering in London (none pushed him there, of course, just an ex-wife attempt to save a family by starting a life completely different) met and brought home a local homeless offspring to furthe rembrace England's culture by selling home goods to drink, snore and masturbate in a bath pool.

However, his strong father kicks out a tenant unwelcomed, suggests to newly wed and guys travel to Paris to reunite with their sweet-heart Maria they kissed in the UK already.

Eventually, it is a pre-sequence to The Dreamers with correlation on further European Union's developments.

(special thanks to Film Movement for providing me with an advance copy of this movie!)

Tomo (Thomas Turgoose) is a boy from Notingham, running away from unspecified problems at home. Marek (Piotr Jagiello) is a Polish boy, now living in London. The two boys meet and become friends, bonding together through their infautation with a beautiful French woman.

That's the basic synopsis of the film. Pretty simple, nothing special. Ah, but then you see the movie!

I found a lot of pleasant surprises in the film. Marek's father, for example, is a hard-working immigrant man and, almost astonishingly for modern fiction, it NOT abusive towards his son! In fact the two seem to have a fairly healthy relationship, and, while it's not a perfect one, it is one of the more realistic father/son relationships I've seen on film.

Also, there's Tomo, a rather unlikable boy at first, who everytime someone gives him something out of the goodness of their hearts, has the attitude of, "What, is that all?" Making him rather an unpleasant little oik, and one of the two main characters, took guts, and it pays off. Perhaps this is due to the balance provided by Marek, an all-around charming, friendly boy.

The movie is a little shorter than some might like, but it packs a lot of story into 70 minutes. There's great performances and nice, if subtle, cinematogprahy. It's the first one I've seen from Film Movement, and it encourages me to get more!

Also included on the disc is the 10 minute short, "Odd Shoe", about a very strange looking boy, his infatuation for a girl, and a pair of shoes. It's a surprisingly effective little movie and well-worth watching.

Some excellent teen dramas coming out of the UK lately, like Boy A and even Summer Scars for others (not my favorite) and now this black & white version of life in Somers Town.

A solid performance film by both kids and the believability appears spot-on for a working class movie. All of the words plastered into the cover art ring true; heartwarming, witty, charming, etc. None of the sets ever feel made up and the locations all look authentic. The color palette ending had just the right appeal for a completion on this kind of story. The supplements are a standard set for the Film Movement releases, including the interviews, text screen backgrounds on location history and a great short film.

The short is titled Odd Shoe by Paul Cotter. Awesome little performance for this poor kid who happens upon a nice pair of shoes, but not without some serious heartache. Lasts 10 minutes and is worth the watch. The main feature is a short 68 minutes (70 with credits) but is appropriate for the story.

Four for the film, one for the extras and short film. Enjoy.