England Is Mine
| England Is Mine | |
|---|---|
.jpeg) UK One Sheet Poster | |
| Directed by | Mark Gill |
| Screenplay by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Nicholas D. Knowland |
Production company | Honlodge Productions |
| Distributed by | GEM Entertainment (Non-US) (all media) Cleopatra Entertainment (USA) (all media) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
England Is Mine is a 2017 biographical drama film, based on the early years of singer Morrissey, before he formed The Smiths in 1982 with Johnny Marr. Originally titled Steven (Morrissey's first name), the title of the film comes from a lyric in the Smiths' song "Still Ill": "England is mine, and it owes me a living".[1][2][3] The film is an unauthorized portrayal of Morrissey's pre-success teen years.
The film stars Jack Lowden as Morrissey, and was written and directed by Mark Gill. It co-stars Jessica Brown Findlay as Linder Sterling and Laurie Kynaston as Johnny Marr.[4][5][6][7] It premiered at the closing gala of the Edinburgh Film Festival on 2 July 2017, and was released in the UK on 4 August 2017, and in the U.S. on 25 August 2017.
Plot
Young, introverted Steven Patrick Morrissey is a sullen, dissatisfied, and shy teen growing up in Manchester in the 1970s. Withdrawn and a loner, he goes out to listen to music at night and then submits letters and reviews to music newspapers. His father wants him to get a job, his mother wants him to follow his passion for writing, and Steven doesn't quite know what he wants to do. His friend, artist Linder Sterling, inspires him to continue to write lyrics and urges him to start to perform, but she eventually moves to London. Forced to earn a living and fit in with society, Steven's frustrations and setbacks continue to mount. Although he eventually writes some songs with guitarist Billy Duffy until Duffy breaks it off, and he tries his hand at singing and enjoys it, nothing substantially changes in his life, and Steven seems at the end of his rope. At the end of the film, guitarist Johnny Marr (with whom he would go on to form The Smiths) shows up on his doorstep in 1982.
Cast
- Jack Lowden as Steven Morrissey
- Jessica Brown Findlay as Linder Sterling
- Laurie Kynaston as Johnny Marr
- Adam Lawrence as Billy Duffy
- Jodie Comer as Christine
- Katherine Pearce as Anji Hardie
- Peter McDonald as Peter Morrissey
- Simone Kirby as Elizabeth Morrissey
- Vivienne Bell as Jacqueline Morrissey
- Graeme Hawley as Mr. Leonard
Production
Jack Lowden, the star of the film, did not know much about Morrissey when he was cast. Director Mark Gill also discouraged Lowden from finding out too much about the singer, and banned him from reading his autobiography or watching old TV appearances, so that the character – a troubled and introverted teen before he started a band or became at all successful – could be played as written.[8]
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 51% based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, England Is Mine's smartly assembled cast and strong sense of place are often enough to compensate for this unauthorized biopic's distance from its subject".[9] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 45 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".[10]
Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars and wrote: "Morrissey gets the cuddly Billy Liar treatment in this weirdly generic movie about his early teen life in Manchester that sometimes seems to be straightforwardly channelling the kitchen-sink spirit of 60s British cinema that Morrissey famously adored – but with much less of the acid irony and alienation that he extracted from it.[11] Owen Gleiberman in Variety stated: "England Is Mine just feels like a stopgap movie made by people who couldn’t afford to get the rights to the Smiths’ catalogue. The poster calls it a meditation 'on becoming Morrissey,' but it would be more accurate to describe it as a movie about waiting around dejectedly until there’s nothing left to do but become Morrissey".[12] Tim Robey in The Telegraph gave England Is Mine two out of four stars and wrote: "The film romanticises the ambitions hatched in male bedrooms and gives the embarrassing impression that’s where all sincere art springs from. It’s like being crushed in a vice of angst."[13] Jeannette Catsoulis in The New York Times stated: "Skirting sexuality and absent Morrissey’s music (the movie ends in 1982 as he and Johnny Marr are on the brink of forming the band), England Is Mine is a soggy schlep. But if you’re among those who believe that great art rarely foments in the cheerfully well-adjusted, then this one’s for you."[14]
Alan Scherstuhl in the Village Voice praised the film's acting, and wrote: "'Are you going to sulk all day?' our hero gets asked just minutes into Mark Gill’s England Is Mine. The remaining eighty-plus minutes of this muted, sometimes arresting drama concern a young man trying to find it in himself to sulk better."[15] Jamie Neish wrote in CineVue, "Due to rights issues none of Morrissey’s music is used. ... England Is Mine works far better as an evolution of a star pre-fame than anything else. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – just different from what audiences may expect."[16] Dave White in The Wrap opined that the film was best seen by true Morrissey fans: "For the millions of true believers out there ... the film provides a blissfully melancholy roll call of pleasures."[17]
England Is Mine was nominated for the "Politiken's Audience Award" at the 2017 CPH:PIX. It was also nominated "Best Film" at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. At the Milan Film Festival, the film was nominated "Best Feature Film" in the "International Competition".[18]
References
- ^ "Morrissey biopic to close Edinburgh film festival". BBC News. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ Gill, Mark. "England Is Mine". EdFilmFest. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ Pulver, Andrew; Mumford, Gwilym; Bradshaw, Peter. "Summer 2017's best movies: from Scarlett Johansson's hen night to Morrissey's teen years". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ Wright, Tolly. "Unauthorized Morrissey Biopic Now Titled England Is Mine". Vulture. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ Bamigboye, Baz. "Jack's the lad to play Morrissey in new film called Steven". Daily Mail. 17 March 2016.
- ^ Ojomu, Nola. "This Charming Man! War & Peace star Jack Lowden transforms into a young Morrissey as he films new biopic Steven". Daily Mail. 8 May 2016.
- ^ England Is Mine at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Jonze, Tim (28 July 2017). "Jack Lowden, the man who would be Morrissey: 'It was probably helpful that I wasn't a massive fan'". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ "England is Mine (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ "England Is Mine Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter. "England is Mine review – generic Morrissey biopic saved by charming man Jack Lowden". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen. "Film Review: The Morrissey Biopic England Is Mine". Variety magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ Robey, Tim. "England Is Mine review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette. "Review: England Is Mine, a Portrait of Morrissey's Early Years". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ Scherstuhl, Alan (23 August 2017). "Tracking Shots: This Week in Film: England Is Mine". Village Voice. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ Neish, Jamie (2 August 2017). "Film Review: England Is Mine". CineVue. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ White, Dave (24 August 2017). "England Is Mine Review: Morrissey Biopic Feels Like a Perfectly Unhappy Smiths Song". The Wrap. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ "Awards". IMDB. Retrieved 24 February 2018.