TV preview: This Is England ‘88 | I Had The X Factor ... 25 Years Ago: A Wonderland Special

By Paul Whitelaw
Published on Monday 12 December 2011 00:00

Set during the early 80s tumult of Thatcher’s Britain, filmmaker Shane Meadows’ autobiographical This Is England was one of the most affecting coming-of-age dramas to emerge from British cinema in years.

But 2010’s TV sequel suffered from a debilitating identity crisis. What the hell was it trying to be? Knockabout ensemble farce or harrowing kitchen sink drama? While it’s theoretically possible to combine both these styles, This Is England ’86 missed the mark by a quite staggeringly ham-fisted degree.

In particular, the graphic rape of a hitherto minor character used solely as a plot device to trigger the final act was one of the most egregious bits of writing I’ve seen on TV in a long time. You really expect more from an artist of Meadows’ calibre.

So it was with trembling caution that I approached the follow-up, this is england ’88, only to be pleasantly surprised by how good it is. Gone are the jarring shifts of tone and forced, unfunny, Shameless-style comedy sequences, replaced instead by Meadows’ usual seamless mix of humour, pathos and unsettling drama (although only the first two episodes were available for preview; if it falls apart in episode three, don’t blame me).

It’s obviously no coincidence that, unlike last time, Meadows – who co-writes with Jack Thorne (The Fades) – is in the director’s chair for all three episodes, making it feel more of a piece with the original film. His signature brew of naturalistic performances and semi-improvised, authentic-sounding dialogue is in evidence throughout, while more effort is made to make you care about the characters organically, rather than practically forcing you at gunpoint as they did in TIE ’86.

Set 18 months later, it develops the established themes of growing up, growing apart, and coming to terms with personal traumas. So, at the risk of sounding like one of those deliberately bamboozling recaps at the start of 80s sitcom, Soap, this is where we find ourselves: it’s Christmas 1988, and the old gang have splintered somewhat. Long-time sweethearts Woody (Joe Gilgun) and Lol (Vicky McClure) have broken up following the latter’s affair, and subsequent pregnancy, with mutual friend Milky. Lonely, depressed and haunted by horrifying visions of her abusive father – who was murdered by Combo (Stephen Graham, who delivers a poignant cameo in episode two) – Lol is struggling to raise her daughter and desperate for help.

Woody, meanwhile, is living a nominal portrait of conjugal bliss with his nice new girlfriend and well-meaning parents, while unwittingly scaling a career ladder he never wanted in the first place. Although his storyline is often very funny – Gilgun is a natural comic performer – Woody’s growing sense of suffocation is as tangible as Lol’s mirror-image misery.

Finally, teenage Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) has enrolled in a local drama course, becoming the most unlikely star of a romantic Victorian melodrama in thespian history. But it’s a sign that, like the young Meadows upon whom he’s based, he’s attempting to broaden his horizons beyond the strictures of his mundane Midlands community. Shaun’s storyline is also played for laughs initially – no one does doleful adolescent suffering quite as amusingly as Turgoose – but his burgeoning relationship with a middle-class girl from college inevitably goes awry.

Where TIE ’86 felt like an unnecessary addendum, this well-judged effort actually appears to have some point to it. The last series was so unevenly written, Lol actually came across as annoying and unsympathetic, which surely can’t have been her creators’ intention (a bold move, if so). But McClure’s impressive performance, combined with the sensitivity and restraint of Meadows’ direction, results in a powerful study of victim trauma.

And although we could all do without his occasional penchant for gratuitous “Feel Sad Now” musical montages, it’s probably fair to say The Scorsese of the North™ has redeemed himself.

The 1980s theme continues with I HAD THE X FACTOR... 25 YEARS AGO: A WONDERLAND SPECIAL, a bittersweet documentary exploring the varying fortunes of the New Faces finalists of 1986.

Famously responsible for launching the careers of stars such as Lenny Henry and Victoria Wood, this TV talent show attracted more than 15 million viewers at its height, and with its vulnerable hopefuls and celebrity judges – Barry Cryer! “Kid” Jensen! “Nasty” Nina Myskow! – established the template for the Simon Cowell behemoths of today (although it seems much more innocent in retrospect).

“Shaking hands with God could not top winning New Faces,” declares comedian Vinny Cadman, whose reward was years of chronic alcoholism and homelessness. But almost everyone involved has weathered a quagmire of failed marriages, naïve business dealings and eventual obscurity, their stardom proving as instant as it was fleeting. The exceptions have found salvation on the cruise ship circuit.

Mercifully avoiding the temptation to mock its subjects, this sympathetic and candid film should serve as a cautionary tale to wannabes everywhere, although it’s probably more likely that future Cowell playthings either won’t be watching (probably too busy teaching a dog to sing Sex Bomb), or won’t recognise themselves in the fates of their forebears. Such are the mind-addling fumes of ambition.

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paulwhitelaw

Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 11:14 AM

Sorry, yes, you're quite right. I should've clarified that.

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Steven Jay

Friday, December 16, 2011 at 10:55 AM

Not to be a bellend about it but Combo didn't kill Lol's dad at the end of TIE 86. Lol killed him but Combo took the rap and went to prison for it which is why Lol is so depressed and isolated in TIE 88.

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