Blog Assignment Eight: Scene Deconstruction

This post will deconstruct and evaluate the final scene of Shane Meadow's This Is England based on its thematic elements. The scene can be viewed after the jump.



     The theme of the film is that a person's identity changes throughout the course of their life. This is exemplified in the final scene of the film as Shaun, who worked so hard throughout the film to fit in with a local gang of skinheads, tosses the flag they gave him into the sea. This is shown actively throughout the film as the characters never say that they're changing. In fact, this scene is the most didactic of any as it’s quite obvious that Shaun's throwing of the flag marks the end of his association with the gang, but this isn’t actually stated.

     This final scene demonstrates the aforementioned scene through use of space and movement. Shaun is placed in a vast open, deep space on the sea shore and is often filmed from a distance or from above in close-ups to make him seem dwarfed by the landscape around him. Even though this scene is incredibly personal, he space Shaun occupies on the screen for the beginning of it is fairly minimal, making the final shot where his face fills the frame all the more powerful. He is made to seem small and frail in the opening shots, as though he’s been completely broken by the ordeal he went through over the course of the film, then in the final three shots we see he has resolved to frustrated closure and get some hope for his future.

     Shaun’s movements in the scene are slow, but deliberate adding powerful emotion to his actions. The viewer gets the sense that he knows exactly what he is doing when he brings the flag to the shore. And the slow sinking of the flag offers a powerful conclusion to the only fast motion in the scene (the actual throwing). There is time to save the flag if he wishes, but Shaun (as evidenced by the POV of the shot) just stands and watches. Had the flag sunk slowly, or worse floated, the theme of rejection of the past self would not be evident. Thankfully, Meadows made the flag gracefully sink into the murky water never to be seen again. The finality of the gesture is clearly shown as the flag disappears and the cut to Shaun’s unmoving face occurs.