Published in February 2024, new Film East anthology Screen Britain covers a range of British cinema, from settings to staple genres. Edited and compiled by Shelby Cooke, the anthology contains work by fifteen critics with a variety of voices, spanning the cinematography of Britain and beyond. There are thirty-five films and television shows discussed within its pages, with something that will interest any film fan—even for the most well-versed cinephile there will be something you hadn’t heard of or expected to watch before.
Particular highlights include Zoe Blacklock’s essay Reframing the British Sports Film: Alan Clarke’s Billy The Kid And The Green Baize Vampire, William Schofield’s The Sun Never Sets: The British Empire’s Cinematic Legacy, Ash Eloise O’Brien’s London’s Calling: Representing Notting Hill and Peckham on Screen and Laura Patterson’s A Miner or a Dancer: The Importance of Identity in Billy Elliot. The book highlights both recent, widely-known films such as Paddington or RRR and calls attention to perhaps more underrated ones, such as the aforementioned Billy The Kid And The Green Baize Vampire and Mandy.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is the depth in which it explores British class structures and their representation in film and television. It is discussed by a range of writers within the anthology and the films chosen as examples are illuminating and appropriate. The honesty and constructive mindset in which these critics write is refreshing to read and the essays feel accessible to anybody wishing to learn more about social issues as portrayed in film.
One area in which there was more to be explored was the geographical range that the book covers—some regions seem not to be mentioned, such as the Midlands. This particularly seems a shame as the book’s in-depth explorations of social realism could inevitably come to the Uttoxeter-born director Shane Meadows, who it could be said bridges the gap discussed in one essay between British social realism films and their upper-class creators who are not writing from a lived experience. It would be wonderful to see even more parts of the UK highlighted in regards to the films produced there.
The voice of each critic is unique and personal. While the collection works well as a whole and has been compiled and edited to a high standard, there is the feeling that the critics have not been stifled or kept from being unabashedly honest when they need to be. Some essays or opinions on a film may at times be at odds with another in the book—a sign that it truly is a showcase of various paths of critical thought, with everybody being allowed a voice concerning cinema.
An enriching and refreshing read, Screen Britain will make you love learning about film.
Words by Casey Langton
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