EIFF2008: Somers Town

The latest film from Shane Meadows began as a 20-minute Eurostar promotion and somewhere along the line ended up a 75-minute feature. Reuniting Meadows with previous collaborators, most notably THIS IS ENGLAND's Thomas Turgoose, it's heading off in a different direction than his previous films. It's less angry, less downbeat, less autobiographical - it's more of a feelgood movie than anything else.

Taking himself and his crew out of his Midlands comfort zone, Meadows has filmed this latest effort in London, using black and white photography again, the film focusing on a young runaway (Turgoose) who ends up befriending a Polish immigrant.

While it's all wrapped up rather neatly, only the coldest of cynics could really complain. The only thing negative I could find to say about it was that I didn't like it as much as his last two films - but that's not so much a complaint as a reflection on how good they were. SOMERS TOWN is still a joy and worth your cash at the box office.