3 months ago 21st Aug 09:22
Following up his critical hit This Is England was never going to be easy. But then throughout his career, Shane Meadows has always managed the element of surprise. In the case of Somers Town, it’s directing a black-and-white film about boyhood friendship that’s a third in Polish.
Despite ultimately winning the Michael Powell Award at the 2008 Edinburgh Film Festival, like the characters of the film, it had humble beginnings.
Originally meant as a short film in collaboration with Eurostar, after Meadows’ regular screenwriter Paul Fraser came on board, it evolved into something quite different. Set in the little-known London neighbourhood, situated between the three railway termini of Euston, St. Pancras and King’s Cross, it follows the exploits of Midlands runaway Tommo (This Is England’s Thomas Turgoose) and Marek (Piotr Jagiello), the son of a Polish labourer.
A poignant story about finding first love, as the boys run into a twenty-something French café waitress named Maria (Elisa Lasowski) and both try to win her affections, it’s crafted with the sort of trademark humour that Meadows has become known for since making his 1998 debut Twenty Four Seven.
That it’s also his first project set outside of his native Midlands and the first time he’s worked on a script that he hasn’t been involved in writing suggests that Meadows has entered into uncharted territory with Somers Town. But as the end result shows, it’s territory he takes to with aplomb.
Yeah. It started out as a feature idea, when it was first put to me in the spring or summer of 2007. I was told that Eurostar wanted to make a film about kids, possibly in Paris or possibly in London places that the Eurostar went to.
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