WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

roldyq Movies about people you've never seen before can be more exciting and enriching than all the other stuff. This one is.

featherstone-758-470869 Short, compact, yet rich with satisfaction: this film encompassing some beautiful moments to take with you and treasure. Shot in black & white, this film scores for being simple, yet moving, deep and unique.In a world of blockbusters and 2 hour feature films, this short, simple indie film came as a welcome relief. It was 'bite-sized' if you can attribute that phrase. In other words digestible: it had a pleasantly warming message of friendship and the beauty of human emotions. Therefore perfect to consume on a quiet sunny afternoon.By not being too long, this film does not loose out in being concise, it feels like every short scene is of real value to the story. This creates a pleasant pace and means the audience is kept enticed and captivated. Interwoven in this storyline and despite its brief nature, Meadows is still able to weave in thought-provoking shots and sequences to really underline the nature of social study.Overall it is indeed a little gem, not to be left to gather dust on the shelf. Its one of those movies you could watch on a typical afternoon in the house to give you a satisfying feeling of wholeness.Very impressive: 83/100

JoeytheBrit Shane Meadows is undoubtedly a filmmaker of immense talent capable of producing powerful movies but he seems to have wandered off the path a little here and seems a little bemused by the distractions he has stumbled upon. This story of the unlikely friendship between a working class Nottingham lad and the son of a Polish labourer in London contains only the most cursory of plots, and as the film unfolds the suspicion grows that, even at little more than an hour long, there's a little too much padding here. There are two musical montages - one, in colour, which may be a dream or wish-fulfilment sequence - and a sub-plot about the relationship between Marek and his hard-drinking father that goes nowhere.Lack of a storyline isn't necessarily a bad thing (and despite the negative tone of this review Somers Town isn't a bad film), but if a filmmaker is going to rely on observation in a character-driven tale then those characters have to be interesting. The youngsters give decent performances - especially Thomas Turgoose, who also appeared in Meadows' This Is England, and the director's eye for detail means that the film doesn't feel boring, but once it's over you're left wondering what the point was - and the significance (or wisdom) of having Turgoose's character ending up wearing a dress and dusting knick-knacks like a midget housewife near the film's conclusion.

paul-m-uk Being from Nottingham myself, I sort of feel duty-bound to watch Shane Meadows' films. Usually they don't disappoint. Usually.The reason I see this film as an attempt at comedy is that I can't really see what else it could be. I can't see any kind of message contained in this film, and the premise of the film frankly borders on the preposterous. Too little about the protagonist's background is divulged for the audience to take him seriously. He is essentially a homeless child on the loose in London, though a seemingly compassionate women he meets with on a train and then later in a café feels no need to report this fact to anyone. What drives the film then is the comic spectacle of the unlikely relationship that develops between young Tomo and a Polish immigrant he meets. Sure, this has its moments, but I don't really think that comedy is Meadows' forte.The black and white photography is equally irritating. Meadows could have saved himself bother by just popping up at the start of the film and announcing "this is more 'indie' than This is England, you know...". Once he'd got that off his chest then maybe we could have enjoyed the film in colour...I'm looking for positives here, I really am, but this film is really lacking. It lacks plausibility. It lacks originality (it's relatively similar to This is England). And it lacks run-time: 70 minutes and no discernible 'ending' - you may well feel like heading back to the ticket booth and asking for a refund afterwards.Not an unmitigated disaster, but watch Shane's other films first.