Made in Britain (1982)

Pretty Good

Fresh and Exciting

Fantastic!

Crappy film

I've always admired and liked Tim Roth, believing him to be one of the U.K's finest acting exports. I found this DVD at a local CashConverters for 99p and it sat on my shelf for a year.Finally seeing it, it did not surprise me that within ten minutes, not only had skinhead Trevor (Roth) stolen a car but was also sniffing glue, with his room-mate from the open assessment detention centre that the Court had only just sent him to.I so wanted not for this to be a catalogue of 'let's be as nasty racist criminals as we possibly can' but couldn't see how it would not be. As a pertinent statement on Thatcher's Capitalist Britain it certainly hits hard, with Roth being very believable and natural, his facial configurations often being a whole act in themselves.The film does try and breakdown how the bright Trevor got to this stage in life, which to do in a credible way, is commendable. The 4:3 TV ratio, the natural lighting and '80s slightly dingy images suit the subject perfectly, having a near documentary feel. There's also a solid supporting cast of social workers, case workers etc that are familiar to British TV drama audiences.The strong dialogue with 'f' words aplenty seem natural and often used with anger and menace. Made In Britain will be many people's worst kind of nightmare viewing, but let them keep their cosy Sunday night gentle 'drama'. This is true drama, not cotton-wool wrapped in caramel gooey stuff that is far too prevalent. For those who want - and appreciate - a roller-coasting journey down Reality Street, then this is the real deal.

I can't add much more to the reviews already here. Tim Roth's performance is extraordinary, as are all those of the supporting cast. Perhaps a bit more could have been done with the Eric Richards character - the motivation for his tolerance are unclear. But I most want to say something about the 'similar' films recommended by IMDb. Love Actually, Gandhi, and Harry Potter?! Whoever thinks that if you like Made In Britain then you'll like those must be mentally retarded. Instead, check out 'Meantime', made at a similar time, with Roth as a lonely outcast and Gary Oldman as a skinhead almost as scary as Trevor in this. Also try 'Bloody Kids', directed by Stephen Frears, about alienated youth, but even younger than in this. Those 3 films together form an extraordinary portrait of youth in early 80s Britain.

Well done BBC, back in the days when the Beeb did gritty dramas, they released made in Britain, directed by Alan Clark. Again he brought us another shocking drama, in the same niche of Roy Mintons 1977 drama Scum, again directed by Clark. A very memorable film, if you was a punk during the 70's or a chav during the 00's you can still represent with Trevors anti-authority figure. With a few recognisable characters from ITV's Crossroads and The Bill, and an excellent role played by Tim Roth, who most people seem to think started acting a week before Reservoir Dogs was cast. A timeless piece of TV history... I found it left me begging at the end of the drama, for more....classic lines from the film are too many to mention, see Skinnymans album Council Estate of Mind for some good samples from the show...I would give it a 9 out of 10 but on a Dazmondo scale, Being a violent thug as a youth, its a classic....

I saw this film whilst studying in London, and though it isn't exactly pleasant, it does capture your imagination. Roth's performance is as brutal and realistic as everyone says, and the rough, hand-held style of the camera-work contributes to its documentary feel. I don't think I am alone when I say these things; however, I hesitate to talk about how this movie stacks up to other films about skinheads, particularly American HISTORY X. The fact that both movies include the nationality of the main characters says it all--as much as we might like to think that all skinheads are alike, insomuch as they are all equally stupid, Trevor wouldn't make sense in America and Derek Vinyard (Ed Norton's Chararter in AHX) wouldn't make sense in Britain. Each character is a unique product of their country's history, politics, racial attitudes, and ideas of self. Thus I don't think either character--or either movie--can really be evaluated in terms of the other. And while the lead performance is captivating, and might be worthwhile for Tim Roth fans (legend has it Tarantino was inspired to cast him in Reservoir Dogs after seeing this performance), I can see why this film has not been a big hit in the United States. As I said before, the issues discussed in the movie are specific to a particular moment in Britain's social history, and don't translate well. For example, the ending shows Trevor and his new black friend teaming up to assault a South-Asian merchant. This cross-racial animosity toward South-Asian immigrants is reflective of Britain' unique experience with multiculturalism, and wouldn't make much sense to Yanks, given our country's racial history and patterns of immigration. I would recommend this film for the lead performance, and perhaps for its potential to inform the viewer about certain aspects of Britain's multicultural history.