"England Is Mine" reviews (Hollywood Reporter, The List, Scotsman, HeraldScotland + more)

'England Is Mine': Film Review | Edinburgh 2017 - The Hollywood Reporter
By Neil Young

EIFF 2017: This unauthorised Morrissey biopic has its moments but will frustrate fans - The List
by Emma Simonds (2 of 5 stars)

Edinburgh International Film Festival review: England is Mine - The Scotsman
By Alistair Harkness (3 stars)

Alison Rowat Edinburgh International Film Festival review: England is Mine - HeraldScotland
by Alison Rowat (3 stars)


UPDATE:

England Is Mine: Film Review - The Skinny. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Rachel Bowles (3 stars)

England Is Mine(2017) - The Fan Carpet. Link posted by an anonymous person
by Jen Scouler (4 of 5 stars)

England Is Mine': Edinburgh Review - Screendaily. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Wendy Ide

England Is Mine: Reviewing ‘Mr Hard To Get’ - Julie Hamill. Link posted by Famous when dead.

EIFF 2017: England is Mine Review - SeenSome. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Adam Mulgrew (4 of 5 stars)

Movie review: An angsty insight into the birth of Morrissey myth in England Is Mine - The National. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Ross Miller

Edinburgh 2017: England Is Mine review - Cinevue. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Jamie Leish (3 of 5 stars)

REVIEW: ENGLAND IS MINE - Geek Ireland. Link posted by an anonymous person.
by Tracy Sayers ( 4.5 of 5 stars)

England is Mine - entertainment.ie. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Gavin Burke (4 of 5 stars)

Movie Review: England is Mine - Comic Crusaders. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Garth Cremona (3 1/2 of 5 stars)

#Review: England Is Mine - Scannain. Link posted by an anonymous person.
by Garth (4.0 of 5)

Reviewed: Morrissey biopic, England Is Mine: William, it was almost something - Uncut. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Michael Bonner

--
Links posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer:

Review from the September 2017 issue of Mojo - there isn't a link so the review is below (there is also a nice interview with Jack Lowden in the issue):

Young Winsome: Can a Morrissey biopic make us fall in love with Steven Patrick all over again? Well, I wonder
by Andrew Male (4 of 4 stars)

England is Mine - The Independent Ireland
by Hilary A. White (4 of 4 stars)

England is Mine - The Guardian
by Peter Bradshaw (3 of 5 stars)

Film Reviews Roundup - England is Mine - The Independent
by Geoffrey Macnab (3 of 5 stars)

England is Mine - Little White Lies
by Bojana Duric

England is Mine Review - Hey U Guys
by Linda Marric (3 of 5 stars)

At last! Morrissey goes down in celluloid history - RTE
by Alan Corr (4 of 5)
--
England Is Mine review: dull Morrissey biopic is like being crushed in a vice of angst - The Telegraph. Link posted by Famous when dead
by Tim Robey (2 of 5 stars)

England Is Mine reviewed by Robbie Collin - BBC 5 Live / YouTube. Link posted by an anonymous person.

The New Morrissey Biopic Returns to a Time Before He Was Problematic - VICE. Link posted by Calamine Lotion.
by Phoebe Hurst

England Is Mine review: This much-hyped Morrissey biopic doesn’t do the great man justice - Metro
by James Luxford (2 of 5 stars)

England is Mine: Lifeless - Financial Times. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Nigel Andrews (2 out of 5 stars)

England Is Mine': The Morrissey Biopic That Might Make You Give Him A Second Chance - Esquire. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Olivia Ovenden

Morrissey biopic England Is Mine – a quiet portrait of a star’s growing pains - The Big Issue. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Edward Lawrenson

England Is Mine review – a Morrissey mope-fest - The Guardian. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Wendy Ide

Film Review: The Morrissey Biopic ‘England Is Mine’ - Variety. Link posted by I_Am_A_Disco_Dancer.
by Owen Gleiberman

Film Review: England Is Mine - Trust The Wizards. Link posted by Rebel Rikkit

England Is Mine review - Slant Magazine. Link posted by an anonymous person.
by Derek Smith (1 1/2 of 4 stars)
 
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I can't be bothered with more useless reviews - which I'm not reading - of Norma Jean .
I want to know what is Morrissey doing in Hawick .

someone posted that the Harwick photo was from 2011.
 
Still wanna know what he was doing there. ;)

o.k.ok... I didn't want to spill the beans, but if my sources are correct...

He was just passing through on his way to go to his private post by the water in hopes he will get the chance to see the Loch Ness Monster !

He's a big fan of Nessie. :)



BOYCOTT 'ENGLAND IS MINE' !!!
 
someone posted that the Harwick photo was from 2011.
Ayyy how dumb of me , of course you wouldn't believe me that when I first saw that photo I was like why are they putting this old pic of him and then it started to appear everywhere and suddenly I'm like wait this is a new pic .. anyway thanks Keta :D
 
Ayyy how dumb of me , of course you wouldn't believe me that when I first saw that photo I was like why are they putting this old pic of him and then it started to appear everywhere and suddenly I'm like wait this is a new pic .. anyway thanks Keta :D

someone posted it was from 2011. That could be false and maybe it is a new photo. :confused: ;)




BOYCOTT 'ENGLAND IS MINE' !!!
 
Distancing himself from you.

giphy.gif


Did I mention the word bored?

Now you mention it, I think you did. More then once.
Bored is good. :thumb:

Distancing himself from me would be by far the easiest thing he has ever done in his life.
As I am not the person to even be near to him, or approach him.
I consider that rude and invading someone's privacy. It's not polite.

But that is just me. Not condemning any other fans.
I respect him as an artist. I am just some random Moz-fan.
If by some totally random coincidence I would see him, I would like to shake his hand and say thank you for the music.
But if it felt inconvenient, I would leave him alone.
:thumb:
 
Now you mention it, I think you did. More then once.
Bored is good. :thumb:

Distancing himself from me would be by far the easiest thing he has ever done in his life.
As I am not the person to even be near to him, or approach him.
I consider that rude and invading someone's privacy. It's not polite.

But that is just me. Not condemning any other fans.
I respect him as an artist. I am just some random Moz-fan.
If by some totally random coincidence I would see him, I would like to shake his hand and say thank you for the music.
But if it felt inconvenient, I would leave him alone.
:thumb:
The only random Moz fan is Jay Tando!



But once again we agree.
 
Review from Sight and Sound - I've copied it below since you have to have a subscription in order to access it. {maybe a bit spoiler-ish) -

"Jean Marais and Alain Delon are among those to have featured on The Smiths’ iconic record sleeves, along with Emile de Antonio’s In the Year of the Pig. Morrissey, the band’s singer, has identified himself with Pasolini and Visconti, and once lived in a house built for Clark Gable. He is a committed cinephile who has frequently acknowledged the influence of film on his work and expressed admiration for both international cinema and 1960s British kitchen-sink dramas. It is tempting, then, to view England Is Mine as cinema repaying the compliment. Its prickly subject may not see it like that, but there is nothing here that should make him terribly miserable. This is an affectionate, endearing and heartfelt portrait informed by a fan’s devotion.

For his debut feature, director Mark Gill has created a clever origin story that follows the life of Steven Morrissey, depressive box-bedroom inhabitant, before he transformed into ‘Morrissey’ gladioli-flinging pop star and champion of outsiders. He imagines Morrissey’s life from the time he escaped Manchester’s schools until Johnny Marr knocked on the door of his house at 384 Kings Road, Stretford, and suggested they become a Leiber and Stoller for the 1980s.

Gill daringly dramatises events that are part of The Smiths’ folklore, and presents a vision of 1970s Manchester entirely informed by Morrissey’s lyrics and writings. When the film escapes the singer’s bedroom, cluttered with precious books and music, there are scenes at cemetery gates on dreaded sunny days, at the darkened underpass and iron bridge; and, in a lovely scene that references Jürgen Vollmer’s photography (which adorned the cover of The Smiths’ The World Won’t Listen compilation album), Steven gets clobbered by ruffians on the last night of the fair.

When Morrissey looks for a job and then he finds a job, we know how that will turn out. The scenes in which he endures working in a tax office play out like a pilot for a sitcom and are very funny. They are enlivened by Jodie Comer as Christine, a blousy co-worker who takes a shine to Morrissey – a characterisation that has much in common with the unflattering depiction of women in songs such as ‘Pretty Girls Make Graves’ or ‘William, It Was Really Nothing’. Jessica Brown Findlay as Linder Sterling is a formidable, feminist whirlwind, and far more sympathetic, while Jack Lowden is very good in the lead role, mastering the mannerisms and the monotone voice admirably, though he only truly looks like Morrissey in the latter part of the film, when he adopts James Dean-inspired haircut and glasses.

The soundtrack choices are impeccable, every tune a touchstone acknowledged by its subject as a song that saved his life. While Morrissey continues to make political statements that might generously be described as clumsy, England Is Mine arrives to provide a welcome comfort blanket for fans whose devotion is tested. It reminds us of a time when he was human and he needed to be loved."
 
Review from the September 2017 issue of Mojo - there isn't a link so the review is below (there is also a nice interview with Jack Lowden in the issue).

Young Winsome: Can a Morrissey biopic make us fall in love with Steven Patrick all over again? Well, I wonder
by Andrew Male (4 out of 4 stars)

IT CAN be hard work following Morrissey these days. His public statements on immigration, Brexit and Nigel Farage are hard to justify, while his recent live shows feel like joyless exercises in redundant idolatry. If only we could travel back 35 years to remind ourselves why we ever fell for this ridiculous man in the first place.

That, in essence, appears to be the idea behind Mark Gill’s enjoyable new Morrissey biopic. Based on the singer’s pre-Smiths life in ’70s Manchester, England Is Mine attempts, unashamedly, to reconnect with the wit, spirit, and autodidact subversiveness of young Moz. An act of resurrection, that, like any rock biopic, stands on the strength of its central performance.

Thankfully, in Jack Lowden (Rostov in BBC’s 2016 War & Peace adaptation) Gill has an actor who goes beyond mere impersonation (his Morrissey accent is close to perfection) to capture the inner strife of this troubled young man. While still waspish, rude and antisocial, this Morrissey is also thoroughly loveable. Lowden’s comic timing and physical awkwardness are reminders of how genuinely revolutionary Morrissey’s presence was in early ’80s rock media.

By focusing on the singer’s pre-Smiths years – barracked in his bedroom, writing angry letters to the NME, moping in cemeteries with his friends Anji Hardie (Katherine Pearce) and Linder Sterling (Downton’s Jessica Brown Findlay) and singing in The Nosebleeds with Billy Duffy – England Is Mine conveniently avoids the rock biopic sin of musical re-creation. There are no scenes showing Morrissey and Marr creating songs ‘in the moment’, no direct quoting of lyrics and no one ever introduces themselves with their full name (“Hi, I’m Billy Duffy, I’ll eventually play guitar in The Cult”). Yes, the film does recreate Morrissey’s attendance at the Sex Pistols gig at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall on June 4, 1976, and his first encounter with Johnny Marr at a Patti Smith Group concert in August 1978, but Gill depicts both concerts in soft focus, avoiding embarrassing impersonators. Possibly for rights reasons, he also plays different music over the performances. For the Pistols it’s George Formby’s When I’m Cleaning Windows, for Patti it’s Johnny Tillotson’s Send Me The Pillow You Dream On. Thus, we see these life-changing gigs through Morrissey’s eyes: Lydon reminds him of Formby, Patti is experienced in a romantic dream-state.

Not everything is perfect. Findlay’s hair and make-up are decidedly un-’80s and the punk extras are King’s Road pastiche. But, at its best, England Is Mine is more like another, more good-hearted mini-genre, the British social issue film. Like Brassed Off or Billy Elliot, here is a loveletter to the left-leaning, working class of the late ’70s and early ’80s, and the unique emotional bonds forged across class and gender by a Thatcher-ravaged dispossessed. When Morrissey turns up at the front door of Johnny Marr (Laurie Kynaston) at the film’s end, we know the social significance of what is to come. England Is Mine shows us the significance of what went before.
 
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Apologies if repeated info - there's a lot of this spread over several threads.

3 *s - Guardian - Peter Bradshaw.

"England is Mine review – generic Morrissey biopic saved by charming man Jack Lowden"

Excerpt:

"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.

It’s decently and honestly acted by Jack Lowden, who keeps the film alive, but it somehow winds up being a story about always following your dream and never giving up. There is even has an inspirational speech from Morrissey’s mum."


https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/02/england-is-mine-review-morrissey-biopic-the-smiths

Regards,
FWD.
 
2/5 stars - The Telegraph.

England Is Mine review: dull Morrissey biopic is like being crushed in a vice of angst.

Excerpt:
"His lyrics, as we know, can be as scathing as they are self-mythologising, and Mozza in later life an egocentric windbag. But was he really this dull? 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. And it’s such a constricted vision of growing up, it could barely inspire you to do anything, except not listen to Morrissey."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/england-mine-review-dull-morrissey-biopic-like-crushed-vice/

Regards,
FWD.
 
Review from the September 2017 issue of Mojo - there isn't a link so the review is below (there is also a nice interview with Jack Lowden in the issue).

Young Winsome: Can a Morrissey biopic make us fall in love with Steven Patrick all over again? Well, I wonder
by Andrew Male (4 out of 4 stars)

IT CAN be hard work following Morrissey these days. His public statements on immigration, Brexit and Nigel Farage are hard to justify, while his recent live shows feel like joyless exercises in redundant idolatry. If only we could travel back 35 years to remind ourselves why we ever fell for this ridiculous man in the first place.

That, in essence, appears to be the idea behind Mark Gill’s enjoyable new Morrissey biopic. Based on the singer’s pre-Smiths life in ’70s Manchester, England Is Mine attempts, unashamedly, to reconnect with the wit, spirit, and autodidact subversiveness of young Moz. An act of resurrection, that, like any rock biopic, stands on the strength of its central performance.

Thankfully, in Jack Lowden (Rostov in BBC’s 2016 War & Peace adaptation) Gill has an actor who goes beyond mere impersonation (his Morrissey accent is close to perfection) to capture the inner strife of this troubled young man. While still waspish, rude and antisocial, this Morrissey is also thoroughly loveable. Lowden’s comic timing and physical awkwardness are reminders of how genuinely revolutionary Morrissey’s presence was in early ’80s rock media.

By focusing on the singer’s pre-Smiths years – barracked in his bedroom, writing angry letters to the NME, moping in cemeteries with his friends Anji Hardie (Katherine Pearce) and Linder Sterling (Downton’s Jessica Brown Findlay) and singing in The Nosebleeds with Billy Duffy – England Is Mine conveniently avoids the rock biopic sin of musical re-creation. There are no scenes showing Morrissey and Marr creating songs ‘in the moment’, no direct quoting of lyrics and no one ever introduces themselves with their full name (“Hi, I’m Billy Duffy, I’ll eventually play guitar in The Cult”). Yes, the film does recreate Morrissey’s attendance at the Sex Pistols gig at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall on June 4, 1976, and his first encounter with Johnny Marr at a Patti Smith Group concert in August 1978, but Gill depicts both concerts in soft focus, avoiding embarrassing impersonators. Possibly for rights reasons, he also plays different music over the performances. For the Pistols it’s George Formby’s When I’m Cleaning Windows, for Patti it’s Johnny Tillotson’s Send Me The Pillow You Dream On. Thus, we see these life-changing gigs through Morrissey’s eyes: Lydon reminds him of Formby, Patti is experienced in a romantic dream-state.

Not everything is perfect. Findlay’s hair and make-up are decidedly un-’80s and the punk extras are King’s Road pastiche. But, at its best, England Is Mine is more like another, more good-hearted mini-genre, the British social issue film. Like Brassed Off or Billy Elliot, here is a loveletter to the left-leaning, working class of the late ’70s and early ’80s, and the unique emotional bonds forged across class and gender by a Thatcher-ravaged dispossessed. When Morrissey turns up at the front door of Johnny Marr (Laurie Kynaston) at the film’s end, we know the social significance of what is to come. England Is Mine shows us the significance of what went before.
"When Morrissey turns up at the front door of Johnny Marr (Laurie Kynaston) at the film’s end..." WHA?! The reviewer seems to be a fan, so getting this founding fact flipped is bizarre to me....
 
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