32. England is Mine

In amongst working 20 days in a row, having a social life, and trying to squeeze in sleep, I managed to see England is Mine, the new Morrissey film, however I didn't manage to blog about it. That could mean I was really busy, or it could mean it wasn't the best.

I am a Smiths fan, and I find Morrissey intriguing to say the least, so I was excited to see the film once I had seen the trailer. I also was excited when I saw that Jack Lowden (see previous blog entry) was playing Morrissey, however I much prefer Lowden as a pilot than as a young Moz. I also made the mistake where I watched an interview with him talking about the film, claiming to like The Smiths but proceeding to know nothing about them. They've got that song about that light that never goes out yeah? Anyway, in the interview apparently Lowden was told to only research certain Smiths/Morrissey information, which I appreciate would help him play the part, but I didn't understand why he was told not to read Morrissey's autobiography. Surely reading that would help see both sides of the picture, painted by both the media and the man himself.

I did enjoy the film, and watching in a Manchester cinema I think was also a good experience. There were local jokes, and actually, the film was really rather funny. If you haven't guessed already, the film is the story of Morrissey before The Smiths. It's the story of his early life, his family, his friendships. It's endearing and awkward, and some characters are hilariously witty. It's an easy watch, with the golden time ticket of 1hr 30mins, and if you are interested in the genre and Manchester movement, you will probably enjoy it.

I do think the demographic for the film is quite slim, lots of people hate Moz, or find him arrogant/cocky/depressing. I find him a really interesting, and though I don't appreciate everything he says or does, I definitely have respect for him, and though the film was a good insight to his early life, depending on how truthful it is.

Overall, the film was surprisingly funny, but it won't be to everyone's taste. The ending was really predictable, and I feel like if you've seen Nowhere Boy, the film about John Lennon's early life, you probably won't be surprised in the slightest. For that I give England is Mine a respectable 7/10