Somers Town

Somers Town 2008

Two teenagers, both newcomers to London, forge an unlikely friendship over the course of a hot summer. Tomo is a runaway from Nottingham; Marek lives in the district of Somers Town, between King's Cross and Euston stations, where his dad is working on a new rail link. The boys are both infatuated with the same girl, and pass their days bickering over which of them loves her the most. Finding himself homeless, Tomo surreptitiously moves into Marek's bedroom - but it's only a matter of time before Marek's dad discovers what's going on..

Trailer

Cast

	Piotr Jagiello	...	Marek
	Ireneusz Czop	...	Mariusz
	Thomas Turgoose	...	Tomo
	Perry Benson	...	Graham
	Kate Dickie	...	Jane
	Wojciech Olczak	...	Polish Friend
	Wojtek Macierznski	...	Polish Friend
	Ben Porter	...	Office Worker
	Jamie Belman	...	Office Worker
	Steve Hillman	...	Construction Worker
	Mark Monero	...	Construction Worker
	Ryan Ford	...	Local Kid
	Levi Hayes	...	Local Kid
	Risade Campbell	...	Local Kid
	Huggy Leaver	...	Cafe Owner

Ratings

	Votes	Average
Males	2,083	6.9
Females	256	6.9
Aged under 18	20	7.7
Males under 18	16	7.5
Females under 18	4	9.2
Aged 18-29	1,298	7.2
Males Aged 18-29	1,140	7.2
Females Aged 18-29	157	7.1
Aged 30-44	797	6.7
Males Aged 30-44	726	6.7
Females Aged 30-44	68	6.6
Aged 45+	214	6.4
Males Aged 45+	187	6.4
Females Aged 45+	26	6.6
Top 1000 voters	64	5.9
US users	210	6.9
Non-US users	2,037	6.9
IMDb users	2,524	6.9

Reviews

Author: Neil Young (neil@cudas.demon.co.uk) from Sunderland, England

Though clearly a bit of a "quickie" project made in the immediate afterglow of This Is England - and featuring that film's young star Thomas Turgoose in one of the two main roles - the DV-shot, (mainly) black-and-white, minimal-budgeted 'Somers Town' is by no means a "minor" Meadows. Indeed, in terms of tonal consistency, concision and cumulative emotional wallop, it's in several ways a more satisfying enterprise than its bigger, BAFTA-winning "brother". Indeed (again), there have been very few more moving films from any director since Meadows' own Dead Man's Shoes (2004) - though in this instance it's very much a case of joyful rather than sorrowful tears. This is a delightful, quietly topical, deceptively slight miniature about teenage friendship and first love - scarcely new subjects for cinema, but handled with sufficient sensitivity, humour and spirit to emphatically justify such a choice of material. Meadows and his scriptwriter Paul Fraser, meanwhile, deserve particular credit for so deftly maintaining such a delicate balance between the bouncily engaging story and its sad, even tragic subtexts.

Author: druid333-2 from United States

After seeing Shane Meadows brilliant,but unsettling previous film, 'This Is England',I wondered how is he going to top himself with this one? The answer comes in the form of 'Somers Town',a gritty,grainy black & white film (with colour inserts) with a real "do it yourself" (or,D.I.Y.)look to it, that wears it's heart on it's sleeve. The story concerns two teen aged boys,Tomo (played by Thomas Turgoose,from 'This Is England'),a homeless lad that managed to escape a harrowing home life in the north-Midlands to run wild in the streets of London, and Marek (played by newcomer Piotr Jagiello),a young lad, who is living with his divorced father,Mariusz (played by Ireneusz Czap),both immigrants from Poland living in London. Tomo & Marek meet under some dubious circumstances,with Marek not liking Tomo much at first,but the two forge an uneasy friendship,fall in love with the same woman (a French waitress,Maria,played by Elisa Lasowski),and generally become B.F.F's (best friends forever). Paul Fraser writes a heartfelt screenplay about two opposites that overcome odds to find friendship (Tomo is easily the most unlikely to be able to even have a friend,due to his scrappy nature,while Marek is lonely,due to his father's hard drinking with his co-workers). Natasha Braier's kitchen sink,black & white/colour photography (shot in monochrome HD)gives this film it's character look,and the crisp editing really works to give this film the kudos it deserves. Not rated,but contains some rude language,sexual content & a rather nasty gang beating inflicted on the young Tomo by a street gang

Author: Andrew Marshall from United Kingdom

I have to confess that I love all of the films made by Shane Meadows. In some ways Somers Town is a bit of a departure for Meadows as it is nowhere near as gritty as some of his previous work. Having said that there are still a couple of scenes that will get you squirming uncomfortably.

The film is an insight into the unlikely friendship between Tomo and Merek. The two leads put in great performances considering their age and Turgoose looks a sure fire bet to be a leading actor for a long time to come. The performance of Perry Benson as Graham is also fantastic and all the characters in the film are very true to life.

The film is in black and white apart from the last couple of minutes and at 75 minutes is extremely short for a feature. At times very funny it is certainly poignant and thoroughly enjoyable. If you miss it at the cinema make sure you catch it when it's on the small screen. It certainly will not lose too much in the transition.

Author: paul2001sw-1 (paul2001sw@yahoo.co.uk) from Saffron Walden, UK

Shane Meadows is an under-acknowledged genius, and in this short film about the friendship between two boys, lippy Tomo and drippy Marek, all of his strengths are on view (in spite of its brevity): the ability to coach brilliant performances out of largely unproven casts, hilarious yet real dialogue, simple but atmospheric cinematography and an excellent soundtrack provided by his long-term friend and collaborator Gavin Clark. It's true, that not a lot happens, but it's an utterly moving paean to the virtues of simple companionship in a lonely world. The setting near Kings Cross reminded me of Mike Leigh's 'High Hopes', another film whose strength is its affection for its characters; 'Somers Town' is a slighter film, but a perfectly realised one.

Author: ganglion (peeete@blueyonder.co.uk) from Dundee, Scotland

Another lovely and funny film from Shane Meadows, if a little slight.

The two kids are excellent, very authentic and it was nice to see a small role for Kate Dickie also.

One thing: I really wish I hadn't known this was funded by Eurostar.

It's not that I'm against the idea morally or anything (well, not strongly) but the ending didn't work for me, it felt forced and over-romanticised, and there was this nagging thought as it played out that Meadows would have done things differently had he not had those backers.

Product placement is one thing, but when you feel the whole story and mood of a film is being engineered to fit a commercial agenda, hm, I'm not so sure.