somers town is such fun. after the intensity of this is england i was a little worried. what i mean is that you want to be in the right headspace when you jump into a film like that. but thomas turgoose is so good at playing the smarmy little shit that you want to watch him in anything. i really hope he grows into a well-rounded actor.

it's so wonderful when a coming of age type story isn't all sacharine and soppy. meadows has too keen an eye and ear to let that happen, certainly. the love story is thin, but that's all it should be. these are boys with a crush, struggling to define themselves and find a place in the world. tomo is lost in life beyond measure and marek (played equally well by piotr jagiello) is a polish immigrant still understanding what it is to be british.

i'm not sure the decision to go b&w was necessary to the story, although it does tie it visually to truffaut's the 400 blows. at the least it isn't distracting. it doesn't necessarily make the piece feel more timeless, as the setting is clearly modern london, but it does play with the sense that the real somers town is so tied to its history - something meadows points out in interview.

a short film that turned into a well-edited feature length film, it's a must watch bit of social commentary.