Somers Town (film)
Encyclopedia
Somers Town is a 2008 film
directed by Shane Meadows
, written by Paul Fraser and produced by Barnaby Spurrier. It stars Thomas Turgoose
, Piotr Jagiello, Kate Dickie
, Perry Benson
, and Elisa Lasowski. It was entirely funded by Eurostar
.
The film is a study of social environment in the Somers Town
area of London
, largely shot in black and white.
. When Tomo arrives at his destination, he attempts to enjoy cans of Carling
that he asked a stranger to purchase for him. His luck changes when three boys approach him and ask him questions. The gang eventually robs Tomo of his bag which contains his money and clothes. They also beat him up.
In a local café Tomo approaches Marek who has taken photographs of the beautiful French waitress. To tease Marek, Tomo runs off with Marek's photographs, but then gives them back and they become friends. Marek explains that the woman in the photographs is his girlfriend and her name is Maria. Since they have neither kissed nor done anything remotely sexual, Tomo thinks she is just a friend of Marek's.
Tomo then lives clandestinely at Marek's place. The latter is adamant that his father not discover Tomo's existence at the flat. When Tomo and Marek find a wheelchair left in the street as rubbish, they offer to take the French waitress home in it. They describe it as being her 'special taxi.' She likes it, and after arriving at her flat she kisses both boys. She tells them she likes them equally and asks them both for a kiss. The next scene shows Marek outside the door of the toilet. He encourages Tomo to hurry up. Tomo is in the bathroom and will not be hurried. Marek is worried that his father has only gone to the shops and will catch Tomo. Marek then catches a naked Tomo sitting on the edge of the bathtub masturbating while looking at a picture of the French waitress. Tomo, however, is not embarrassed and laughs at the interruption.
The two then pass by the café where they learn that Maria has had to go home as one of her family members fell ill in France. The boys are indignant as Maria did not inform them. They are also upset because they bought food for her. They feel cheated are annoyed that they spent so much money on cheese, bread and grapes and that Maria did not have the decency to tell them that she was going. On the night that the father discovers the fact that Marek has been hiding someone in the flat, Tomo and Marek are very drunk. The pair are caught by Marek's father, who throws Tomo out of the flat and tells his son to clean up the mess. Marek then expresses to his father how lonely he is.
A hand-held camera reveals how the two boys travel to France. They meet the waitress who embraces them and she is very affectionate towards them. The last shot shows Marek and Tomo each giving the French waitress a kiss on the cheek, as she smiles. This portion of the movie is filmed in colour.
, as the story is set in the neighbourhood of the company's London terminal at St Pancras
, which was just coming to the end of a £800 million re-build. Applying for Eurostar funding had been conceived by the Mother Advertising
agency. The initial idea had been to make a short film, but it developed into a feature length script. The Mother agency approached Shane Meadows
about directing the film; Meadows co-opted his regular script writer Paul Fraser and Tomboy Films produced it.
, an area of the London Borough of Camden
south of Camden Town
. The story is set immediately around Phoenix Court, a low-rise council property in Purchese Street.
s. At Tribeca, stars Thomas Turgoose and Piotr Jagiello jointly shared the award for Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film. It premiered in the UK at Edinburgh International Film Festival
on 20 June 2008, where it won the Michael Powell Award, the festival's highest award.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
directed by Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows is an English film director, screenwriter, occasional actor and BAFTA winner.-Background:Meadows grew up in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop...
, written by Paul Fraser and produced by Barnaby Spurrier. It stars Thomas Turgoose
Thomas Turgoose
-Early life:Thomas was born on 11 February 1992 and brought up in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. He attended Wintringham School.- Career :In his first film role in 2006, he played the lead character, Shaun, in This Is England, written and directed by Shane Meadows...
, Piotr Jagiello, Kate Dickie
Kate Dickie
Kate Dickie is a Scottish actress who has appeared in television series, stage plays and films. She is best-known for her portrayal as the security camera operative Jackie in her starring debut Red Road, directed by Andrea Arnold, and for which she was given several awards as best actress, among...
, Perry Benson
Perry Benson
Perry Benson is an English character actor best known for his regular roles in British television sitcoms You Rang, M'Lord? , Oh, Doctor Beeching! and Operation Good Guys .-Movie career:...
, and Elisa Lasowski. It was entirely funded by Eurostar
Eurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
.
The film is a study of social environment in the Somers Town
Somers Town, London
Somers Town, was named for Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers. The area in St Pancras, London, was originally granted by William III to John Somers, Lord Chancellor and Baron Somers of Evesham. It was to be strongly influenced by the three mainline north London railway termini: Euston , St...
area of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, largely shot in black and white.
Plot
Somers Town follows two teenage boys Tomo and Marek, adrift in an adult world, who develop a mutual trust and form an unlikely friendship. Marek, a Polish immigrant, lives with his father who drinks too much. The film commences when Tomo runs away to London from a lonely, difficult life in the MidlandsEnglish Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
. When Tomo arrives at his destination, he attempts to enjoy cans of Carling
Carling
Carling brands are currently owned by the Molson Coors Brewing Company. In South Africa it is distributed by SABMiller.Carling Black Label is the name of a brand of Canadian lager in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and South Africa...
that he asked a stranger to purchase for him. His luck changes when three boys approach him and ask him questions. The gang eventually robs Tomo of his bag which contains his money and clothes. They also beat him up.
In a local café Tomo approaches Marek who has taken photographs of the beautiful French waitress. To tease Marek, Tomo runs off with Marek's photographs, but then gives them back and they become friends. Marek explains that the woman in the photographs is his girlfriend and her name is Maria. Since they have neither kissed nor done anything remotely sexual, Tomo thinks she is just a friend of Marek's.
Tomo then lives clandestinely at Marek's place. The latter is adamant that his father not discover Tomo's existence at the flat. When Tomo and Marek find a wheelchair left in the street as rubbish, they offer to take the French waitress home in it. They describe it as being her 'special taxi.' She likes it, and after arriving at her flat she kisses both boys. She tells them she likes them equally and asks them both for a kiss. The next scene shows Marek outside the door of the toilet. He encourages Tomo to hurry up. Tomo is in the bathroom and will not be hurried. Marek is worried that his father has only gone to the shops and will catch Tomo. Marek then catches a naked Tomo sitting on the edge of the bathtub masturbating while looking at a picture of the French waitress. Tomo, however, is not embarrassed and laughs at the interruption.
The two then pass by the café where they learn that Maria has had to go home as one of her family members fell ill in France. The boys are indignant as Maria did not inform them. They are also upset because they bought food for her. They feel cheated are annoyed that they spent so much money on cheese, bread and grapes and that Maria did not have the decency to tell them that she was going. On the night that the father discovers the fact that Marek has been hiding someone in the flat, Tomo and Marek are very drunk. The pair are caught by Marek's father, who throws Tomo out of the flat and tells his son to clean up the mess. Marek then expresses to his father how lonely he is.
A hand-held camera reveals how the two boys travel to France. They meet the waitress who embraces them and she is very affectionate towards them. The last shot shows Marek and Tomo each giving the French waitress a kiss on the cheek, as she smiles. This portion of the movie is filmed in colour.
Production
The film was funded by EurostarEurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
, as the story is set in the neighbourhood of the company's London terminal at St Pancras
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
, which was just coming to the end of a £800 million re-build. Applying for Eurostar funding had been conceived by the Mother Advertising
Mother Advertising
- Mother Advertising is an advertising agency with offices in London, New York and Buenos Aires. Mother London is the UK’s largest independent advertising agency . The agency's philosophy is "To make great work, have fun and make money...
agency. The initial idea had been to make a short film, but it developed into a feature length script. The Mother agency approached Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows is an English film director, screenwriter, occasional actor and BAFTA winner.-Background:Meadows grew up in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop...
about directing the film; Meadows co-opted his regular script writer Paul Fraser and Tomboy Films produced it.
Location
Filming took place in Somers TownSomers Town, London
Somers Town, was named for Charles Cocks, 1st Baron Somers. The area in St Pancras, London, was originally granted by William III to John Somers, Lord Chancellor and Baron Somers of Evesham. It was to be strongly influenced by the three mainline north London railway termini: Euston , St...
, an area of the London Borough of Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
south of Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
. The story is set immediately around Phoenix Court, a low-rise council property in Purchese Street.
Reception
The film was shown at the Berlin and Tribeca Film FestivalTribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
s. At Tribeca, stars Thomas Turgoose and Piotr Jagiello jointly shared the award for Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film. It premiered in the UK at Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
on 20 June 2008, where it won the Michael Powell Award, the festival's highest award.