A Room for Romeo Brass is a film which reminded me of several
things. The strong accents adopted by the characters reminded me of my time in
the East Midlands while at University and
Shane Meadows’ gritty, personal, social realist style felt like a re-imagined Ken
Loach. The film tells the story of two young boys who meet an older man and
start hanging around him while he attempts to get one of the boy’s sisters to
go out with him. It’s a simple premise but makes for an absorbing plot thanks
to a well written and natural script alongside some fine performances.
The film sees the big screen
debut of Paddy Considine, an actor who has since worked with Shane Meadows on
several occasions and has cemented himself as one of Britain’s most exciting acting
talents. Not only has Considine had mainstream success in The Bourne franchise but also directed the multi award winning Tyrannosaur in 2011. Acting alongside
the talented Considine is another frequent Meadows collaborator, Andrew Shim, who
plays the title role of Romeo. The movie is driven by Considine though, through
the early stages of exploratory and slightly comedic development, towards the
latter stages in which the character and film become much darker, Considine is
a magnetic and welcome presence on the screen.
