After being a fan of This Is England for many years, I decided to go back and watch Meadows' other films. First up was this, and I would argue that it is almost on par with This Is England. A great, believable story with great actors. I find it more close to heart as it is filmed in suburban England, which is where I grew up which is a theme I experience with his other films too, it is refreshing to have a normal story instead of Hollywood films. The characters, setting and story are all realistic and believable, it is something that any two friends in your street could experience. The only reason why This Is England is slightly better, is because there is a more hard-hitting ending and more interesting characters in that film. But that is totally fine as this is one of Meadows' earlier films with presumably a lower budget. Sure, some of the accents sound comedic but as most of the actors where new to acting in this film, it is very impressive. It feels like a home movie, in a good way and I look forward to watching more of Meadows' work, he is definitely one of the UK's best. A solid 8 out of 10 stars.
... View Morejust sitting here watching this and ...wow...Paddy Considine what a great job he does starts of all nice and shy then starts to turn....and man does he turn .....mind you ....whats up with the dad (bill) ...wheres ya balls ....I do like the way Paddy delivers his performance on this on e and think i will try and find out more about his work! This movie is sure worth a look ! the two boys do a delightful job of keeping the flow of the movie even an appearance by bob hoskins is interesting to see. I'm sitting here watching it and wondering if Paddy is going to make a final comeback after getting his beans ...watching with antisipation
... View MorePrevious to catching this I'd watched a little bit of the earlier critically acclaimed Meadows film, "24:7", enjoyed the portion I saw very much and then was rudely interrupted. Consequently, when I got the chance to borrow "... Romeo Brass" I was mildly excited, if a little unsure about what to expect. 90 minutes later I lay in bed incredibly satisfied. I had seen an example of British cinema carrying on the traditions of artists like Ken Loach. ".. Romeo Brass" is a stunning and disturbing examination of human relationships. The several tone shifts within the film are the result of steady direction rather than shoddy plotting, and Paddy Considine's remarkable performance as "Morell" more than compensates for some shaky rendering by a few of his co-stars.Meadows here creates characters who are unfailingly interesting and rarely easy to predict. The film is a concentrated treasure-trove of wonders, and certain sequences will live with me through many future years of filmic consumption. After seeing this particular effort, I will now make it my mission to absorb everything else that Meadows has done in his career so far. So indeed should you. A marvellous film.
... View More'A Room For Romeo Brass' is the best British film I've seen in years, if that doesn't sound like too much of a cliche. It's almost completely undefinable- just when you think that it's a real-life type of comedy, it switches to being extremely disturbing, and you don't quite know where you are for the rest of the movie (in the best possible way, believe me). Paddy Considine plays Morrell, the mysterious, child-like adult who befriends two schoolboys after coming to their aid when they become involved in a fight with some local lads. Their uneasy and strange friendship with Morrell continues after he becomes obsessed with the sister of Romeo(one of the boys, and the eponymous character), and the life-long friendship of the two boys is slowly driven apart as Morrell becomes increasingly obbsessive. Like all of Shane Meadows films, it takes a look at the working-class world of his youth, but is unique amongst this type of British film because it's funny without being sentimental or condescending, and dark without being depressing. Meadows is certainly ploughing his own unique furrow, which kickstarted with the fabulous 'Twentyfourseven'(many cast members from that film, including Bob Hoskins, make cameos here). Paddy Considine is fantastic, and it beggars belief that this was his first ever screen appearance. His portrayal of Morrell is both sympathetic and terrifying and you can never underestimate his character for a second. The two boys are fabulous as well, and conjure up many memories of what it was like to be that age.It's a real shame that this film didn't do better business upon its release, because it deserved to(not that that makes any difference on the film). Shane Meadows and his cast should be applauded for 'A Room For Romeo Brass'. It's fantastic. (***** out of *****).
... View More