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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
SOMERS TOWN Teenagers lucky enough to be anywhere near a theater or a cable channel showing Somers Town will discover an evocative and intelligent film that will speak frankly and directly to them. Far from being excluded, adults will recognize, and laugh or grimace at, certain recognizable signposts: the rush of petty theft, the euphoria of getting wasted, that first hangover, and finding the best friend you never expected to have. Plus, with its compact running time, this modest but amicable tale has more depth and more spirit than many films twice its length. In the working-class neighborhood of Northern London, and living in public housing no less, Polish teen Marek (Piotr Jagiello) has to come up with his own diversions. His dad works on a construction crew all day and then hits the pub after work. School’s out for the summer, and the mother is out of the picture. Hesitant speaking English, Marek keeps to himself, and has to learn from a middle-aged, packrat neighbor the importance of wearing a shirt sporting an Arsenal logo, not Manchester, in this part of town. On the train from the Midlands to the big city, soft-spoken Tomo (Thomas Turgoose) politely asks a woman if a seat is available. But in a different setting, he becomes, in a convincing transition, manipulative, almost a bully. Short, stocky, and slightly cross-eyed with one black eye, he’s more intimidating than cuddly. (All we know about him is that he has run away—no maudlin monologue delivered.) The survival of the fittest plays out when Tomo, homeless and broke, guilt trips Marek, whom he’s only just met, into letting him crash in Mark’s bedroom. But the arrangement works in each one’s favor. Both strangers to London, they are all the other’s got. Separately, they would both be tongue-tied, but together they can woo a beautiful waitress at the local café, Maria (Elisa Lasowski), who knows full well her effect on the boys. She has them wrapped around her finger, treating them like younger brothers. In turn, they treat her like a queen for the day. Shot in
black and white and filmed near the
newly renovated transit hub St. Pancreas Station, the postindustrial, drab, and
desolate streets look starkly otherworldly, devoid of life—the
loneliness is palpable. Strangely, the low-budget indie, which began as
a short film dealing with the impact of the changing neighborhood, was
financed by the transportation company Eurostar.
Kent Turner
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