Somers Town

Day 15/192-Somers Town: Starring Thomas Turgoose and Piotr Jagiello

Fresh from the excellent This is England, we have another collaboration from director Shane Meadows and actor Thomas Turgoose in the all black and white effort, Somers Town.

Somers Town follows Tomo(Turgoose), who has traveled to London to get away from a difficult home life, as he struggles to get by with no money or clothes after an unfortunate first night in the capital. A chance meeting in a cafe introduces Tomo to Marek,(Jagiello) a Polish boy living in London with his dad. The two form an unlikely friendship which is hard not to be taken in by.

Tomo is the upstart, stealing clothes from a dry-cleaners and lying to the beautiful girl from the cafe. Marek is the sensible one, always taking photographs and making dinner for his dad. When the two meet, the change in their characters, though subtle, is what makes this film so beautiful.

Marek, stuck in his house all day while his dad works, finally has someone to run around with. He even lets Tomo sleep in his room without his dad's permission, mainly because of Tomo's powers of persuasion.



Turgoose has once again taken many plaudits for his performance in this film, rightly so. I think a special mention must go to Piotr Jagiello as well, he plays with Marek with such an excellent sense of humour and the right level of maturity, especially in the transition when Tomo gets a hold of him. This minimal cast lends itself to some very understated performances and even Perry Benson's brash neighbour, who is close to being out of place, lends a bit of colour to Somers Town.

The film really finds its feet when the boys meet Maria, it is so much fun to watch Tomo run his mouth while Marek keeps cool, but lets out a little smile every now and then. And the scene where they take her home from the cafe is a real high point for the film.



The film is a little on the short side, but that is part of the beauty of it. Somers Town is one of those films where you feel like you've just opened a window into a little time in some people's lives. And though they are not the most interesting or exciting people, they are real and honest and when it's all over you find yourself really hoping that everything will work out for them both, despite their inadequacies.

Somers Town does a good job of avoiding incidents of huge drama. Even in one scene where you are expecting a vicious reaction from Marek's dad, he keeps his cool. There are no sell-out moments, this is just a good portrayal of being young and to a certain extent, in love.

8/10