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The Best of British Cinema: ‘Somers Town’ (2008)
Shane Meadows’ understated drama pulls the French New Wave into contemporary working class Britain
It seems to be becoming increasingly uncommon for a film to be simplistic nowadays, on a narrative level at least. Mainstream blockbusters are dominated by frequent releases which require that the audience be up to date with numerous other films in their franchises for the plots to make much — if any — sense, independent films are becoming more mainstream but are usually only taken seriously and/or acclaimed if they are full of thematic depth or emotionally potent plots and, as we all know, mid-budget cinema seems practically dead in the water. If anywhere, simplicity is found in the modern comedy… or… it was until modern comedies themselves became a rarity, with relatively few being released in the last few years especially into cinemas and not straight to streaming platforms.
This makes Somers Town, Shane Meadows’ 2008 drama, remarkable before it even begins. It is a film of striking simplicity — it is only 70 minutes long, its black and white cinematography feels stripped back and stylish, its actors are mostly little-known, its plot is direct and character-focused. It already feels like a kind of relic, a throwback to a time in independent cinema when directors had to…
