Friday 28 September 2012

filmbore pick of the week - A Room For Romeo Brass

A Room For Romeo Brass
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Director: Shane Meadows
Screenplay: Shane Meadows, Paul Fraser
Starring: Andrew Shim, Paddy Considine, Ben Marshall
Year: 1999
Language: English
UK rental release date: March 2002



Back in June I wrote a review on the fabulous directorial debut from Paddy Considine, Tyrannosaur (read the article here). In that review, I mentioned how Considine fell into the film industry while helping his old friend Shane Meadows with some rehearsals on his second full length feature film. Well, it's been a while and I think it's about time I talked about the wonderfully original A Room For Romeo Brass.

http://cf2.imgobject.com/t/p/original/q12bcMF2sDELN4h2Oy3MltxD9JN.jpgRomeo (Andrew Shim, This Is England - film and TV series) lives in a normal working class housing estate with his mother and sister but is estranged from his violent father. Thankfully, his days pass by swiftly due to his close friendship with his neighbour Gavin aka "Knocks" (Ben Marshall, Anita And Me). Knocks has some troubles of his home, with his overprotective mother, under-protective father and a looming spine issue that impedes him with a limp. But together, the lads keep their strength as teenagers do...with quick banter and constantly getting into trouble.

It's not until a potentially explosive, but fortunately brief, run in with some local youths is blighted by a strange fellow, Morrell (Paddy Considine, Dead Man's Shoes, Submarine) that their lives take an interesting turn. His heroic outburst impresses the boys and they adopt him as a third member to their exclusive gang.

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Even though Morell is much older than Romeo and Knocks, they can't help but treat him as the immature member of the tribe. Mocking him when the opportunity present itself, they feel a warmth and consideration towards Morell, not only as they feel protected by him but that it's also pretty cool to hang out with some not of their age.

But, there is a gloom rising. Knocks will be having his back operation soon, and Romeo's dad is returning to the neighbourhood. The expectation starts to bring an edge between them both, clouding them from the sudden approaching curve ball (I can't say what- Spoilers!) that segregates them further as their relationship is tested to the extreme. Can their friendship be repaired?


I knew little of Shane Meadows before I watched this film nearly ten years ago. I'd heard of his debut (the moody and excellent Twenty Four Seven) but hadn't seen it. My girlfriend's late brother had purchased the DVD on a whim due it's filming being in Nottingham and as we waited for the disc to spin into action we had no idea what to expect...by the time the film finished I was an instant Shane Meadows fan.

Starting out as a straight forward British drama, it's so easy to get into. This, I think, comes down to the combination of two important elements: the script and the cast...

Shane Meadows and his long time collaborator, Paul Fraser,  have known each other since they were young lads in a similar housing estate to that of Romeo's and Knocks'. Using their own experiences they were determined to craft a tale that embodied everything they loved and hated about growing up. Bringing their heads together they starting piling together the bones of the story and with a strong enough script they started rehearsal sessions, which is where our Paddy comes in.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3583/3300502440_e34ca68269.jpgOne of the scenes involved some experiences that Meadows and Fraser had in their earlier years with some older lads befriending then bullying them. They asked Paddy Considine to represent the gang to flesh out the scene but what erupted from these sessions was a character they didn't expect - the foundation of Morell. His genuine and obscure performance drove them to make changes to the tale, bringing in aspects to this new character to create a different trail for the story to take. And from this, Considine got his full feature acting debut.

Not only is Paddy outstanding in this (with unforgettable moments, trust me!) but the rest of the cast are just as refreshing. The two young leads are showing the saplings of raw talent throughout, and have instant natural chemistry. I'm not sure if they were friends before this film, yet they give the impression that they've known each other for years. You could forgive the naivety of youth for this, but it's clear from watching the two of them that they have acting blood running through their veins as they handle the film's material with the appearance of experience and maturity. 

Obviously, you can't brush over the brilliant but brief cameo's of Shane Meadow's himself as the chip shop owner and Bob Hoskins as the boy's teacher, but each other character has great screen presence too: The parents of both lads are both comical and melancholy, using the excellent script to their advantage. There is an especially overwhelmingly great performance from Frank Harper (Lock, Stock..., The Football Factory) as Romeo's dad - a troubled, guilt-ridden father who is trying to re-establish his part in the Brass household. And Vicky McClure (also of This Is England fame) is stand-out in her debut role as Romeo's sister, Ladine. In fact, a good percentage of the actor's were cherry picked from the Nottingham Television Workshop, where Meadows frequented to tap into new and local homegrown talent; a feat he would continue to uphold in his future projects.
     
It's this overall organic pairing of cast and story that shines through the whole piece, giving it a natural charm rarely matched by small British movies. For raw UK film making it's difficult to find anything better. Shane Meadows has continued to follow these methods throughout his body of work, which is why we are consistently treated to genuine brilliant story telling. He is the prime example of what good independent film production can achieve, and even though he is now a more famous individual, it's satisfying to know that whatever he turns his hand to will always have a little bit of his grass-roots pride and flare.

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Personally, there are a couple of films of Shane's that I would pick over this one...but only just.  This Is England and Dead Man's Shoes are far better known pictures, and need less promotion than this beautifully local story, and if you haven't seen any of Meadow's work before this is a perfect introduction. It's the piece that made me fall in love with his work and I have a feeling that it could so for many others.

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1 comment:

  1. Hi Filmbore good review by the way do you know where the seaside scenes were shot? Because i believe the film was shot in Nottingham..!!

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