Made in Britain

The extremely talented Tim Roth made his acting debut with this powerful little drama. Roth plays Trevor, a teen aged skinhead with no regard for the rules of society. As the story opens, he's being sent to a detention centre while authorities try to decide what to do about him. He doesn't have any real interest in changing his ways, and would prefer to spend his time stealing things, spouting racial hatred, and being a public nuisance in general. One can tell that 'Made in Britain' was originally made for television. It doesn't attempt to be overtly cinematic, but then it doesn't need to. David Leland wrote the intelligent script, making this an "angry young man" story with a memorable central character. One watches this unfold, doubtful that Trevor will be redeemable at some point, and only vaguely hopeful. When officials try to show him the error of his ways, he shows no interest. His compulsive need to defy authority overrides everything, and he simply refuses to stay out of trouble. Directed by Alan Clarke ("Scum"), and scored by anarchist musicians The Exploited, this gets a lot of juice from the magnetic performance by Roth. I'm sure people who watched 'Made in Britain' when it was new could sense a brilliant career in the making. Roth is also very nicely supported by Terry Richards, as the impressionable Errol, Bill Stewart, as Peter, Geoffrey Hutchings, as the superintendent, and Sean Chapman ("Hellraiser" 1 and 2) as Barry. Highly recommended viewing. Eight out of 10.

Director Alan Clarke always had a knack for spotting raw , young British acting talent . He gave breakthrough roles to Ray Winstone in SCUM and Gary Oldman in THE FIRM and in 1982 gave an unknown actor called Tim Roth the lead in this television drama from David Leland . Somewhat surprisingly it took a few years after these breakthrough roles for these three actors to become better known but the star quality all of them showed is in luminous abundance and that's all down to Clarke Roth plays Trevor a 16 year old Nazi skinhead and what Leland's script is superb at is not portraying Trevor as some sort of misunderstood youth who is just in need of a mere cuddle but in need of some harsher measures . It makes the ironic point that bleeding heart liberals are incapable of understanding that in dealing with violent sociopaths then perhaps draconian solutions themselves bordering on fascism may be needed Indeed Leland's script is replete with irony . Trevor painted not so much as a demon but as someone who sees himself as being merely more honest than society demands lives his life in an honest way . He is racist and wears his racism as a violent badge of honour because it's only hypocrites who don't do this . Appearing in court his caustic attitude and lack of remorse is again a badge of honour . After all it's very cowardly to show repentance and sorrow when you're in court facing serious charges especially when you're not sorry in the slightest . The only difference between Trevor and the average teenager is that Trevor's resentment and anger at the world manifests itself by actions . Remembering my own teenage years wanting to strike back at the oppressive and hypocritical and frankly BS nature of society there is an aspect of recognition that means I could empathise with Trevor and like SCUM this television play was a very memorable for any teenager who saw it . Anyone who puts a concrete slab through a jobcentre window instantly becomes a hero to an umemployed teenager MIB does have the cajones to point out that some people are beyond redemption . You can condition people all you like but at the day some people will be always be racist ( Regardless of their colour ) and violent thugs . To their way of thinking it's the rest of society who are the bad guys because society is contradictory and ruled by hypocits and cowards . The only thing these people respect is a bloody big stick which may shock the bleeding heart liberals but is perhaps the only solution to the problem . If MIB is making the point that the solution is that there are no solutions it does so brilliantly . If there's any reason to be sad watching this it's only to lament how gutless British television has become in the 21st Century . 30 years ago Britannia ruled the television airwaves but not anymore

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.

Made in britain is a gritty play/movie that shows the mentality of some of the youth during Thatcherite Britain when the Tory Government were about greed and cared nothing for the high unenmployment rate and crime rate.Tim Roth plays a youth who feels that the system has let him down and rebels against all authority and anybody who wants to help him. The language is very hard which only adds to the quality of the film and the acting from Tim Roth is of the highest standard especially considering this was his first big project. It is suprisingly fresh and has not dated and is a good reminder of how thing were for some people in the early eighties and also how the youth didnt want to help themselves because they felt society owed them something because we had the worst government of the twentieth century. 8 out of 10.

What makes this film work for me is that it presents Trevor's side of the argument without much editorial comment from the "authorities" who believe that they always know what's best for the rest of us. No apologies are made for his politics, his racial beliefs, or his anger, and that is so refreshing in a country in which all that matters is not offending anyone. Best of all, he doesn't change, or break down and cry, like Edward Norton's character in "American History X." After all, if you really believe in something, speeches won't make a bloody bit of difference. When watching this film, if you're not of the same mind as the main character, try to understand and identify with him. Please don't approach him as a foul-mouthed racist who is therefore not capable of being right about anything. Also don't try to put the blame entirely at the feet of the Tories, because they didn't create immigration without assimilation.

I'll keep this one short by just saying I liked this movie a lot more then I thought I might. By the middle of the film, I found myself laughing out loud at a lot of Trevor's comments and actions. In particular, the finger on the bell scene at the end of the movie had me in hysterics because of Trevor's sheer lack of respect for anyone else. His facial expressions were also a treat at times, especially at the end when you realise there is just no hope for him. Obviously this film is not for everyone, as it deals with the kind of issues you would expect from the director of the firm and scum. But if you realise this character is only fictional, and no one really thinks like that these days, you might find Made in Britain a fairly entertaining hour. At only 70 odd minutes, its hard for me to reward it with a higher score. But it was indeed interesting viewing, and a must see for any Tim Roth fans out there wanting to see where he started out.

Finally got to watch this movie. So true its worth watching even just to watch those expressions. We got a young and promising Tim Roth here playing Trevor the juvenile delinquent skin head. I watched it a second time before deciding to write this review. The first time I felt for the guy, I always felt somewhat that way for the underdog star that rebels against the straight ways of the society we live in. However watching it a second time i realized how annoying he is and how true it is that nobody was giving him any trouble whatsoever and that indeed he was always the one to bring it on himself. Everybody around him does nothing but try to help, OK he says he does not need any help, wants to be left in peace to do whatever he wants, but does that include having him allow others to live in peace? I love it towards the end he really loses it.

WOW! I am a child of the Thatcher era, and as a 12 year old when this movie was made ( probably 14 to 15 by the time I viewed it! ) I had a small recollection of certain scenes from the movie ( mainly the pissing and shitting on the files ) I have to say, that now at the age of 35 and watching this movie for the second time I was totally blown away by Tim Roth's performance!! What a great actor! I have obviously seen him in other movies such as Pulp Fiction, but did not recognise him as a actor in his own right, Until now! I will definitely seek out all his roles on IMDb, and follow his career, I was blown away by his acting skills in Made in Britain, and will now recognise him as a stand alone actor rather than just another face amongst many talented actors ( which is what I thought during pulp fiction ) Thank you ENGLAND, British, U.K , for the most talented actors and the best of British films :o) This one is timeless to all of us who lived the 80's and more! a must see film, no matter you religion, faith or background, the acting alone is worth a view

Although the film was OK, I thought the ending wasn't very good. I get the whole 'stand-up for what you believe in' stuff but it doesn't tell you what happened after he got smacked in the private parts with a baton at the end. I mean, did he go to Borsal and clean up his act? I think I wasted a good 1hr 15mins watching it. I suppose I expected something similar to 'scum' or 'this is england' and it disappoints me to say the film let me down. It had no real ending at all and all it gives out is a message that racial slurs are bad and you should keep your opinions to yourself. Yes, the shock factors there but all in all, it was a great disappointment considering it had lots of good reviews.

I have to say that I was disappointed with the ending. I enjoyed the journey, but felt let down by where I got dropped off. Actually, I say I enjoyed the journey, but actually even that was pointless. Trevor is an angry young man is he? More like Trevor is a moron (if only he'd been called Gordon). Why was he angry? Why was he rebellious? The superintendent gave a wonderful assessment of how he got to where he was. And it was all his own fault. No-one had put him there and no-one was forcing him to stay there. The script was not deep enough to give credence to Trevor's mindset. Also, there are contradictions – such as Trevor's racism towards the Pakistan man and yet he openly cavorts with Errol. Yes he stitches him up in the end, but he's happy to be seen with him and takes him on his sprees. A true racist wouldn't be seen in the company of Errol. Finally, and I know Roth fans will jump on me for this, but Roth is not that convincing as a hard-as-nails, scary skinhead. Yes he can snarl and yes he can shout and yes he can walk like he's meant to be hard, but it's not there in his eyes. He just doesn't convince. If you want an example of someone who played a racist, with intelligence and scared the whatsit out of me – then look at Ed Norton in American History X. And no – I am not American. I am British and grew up in the 70's and 80's in London.