dcmMovielover "Made In Britain" follows Trevor, a 16 year old thug, thief, vandal, sociopath, over a three day period - but in this very short time frame his young life moves out of one phase and into another. Seemingly the consequences of his actions will have repercussions for the rest of his life and the phase he moves into is one destined to take him on a path to 'self destruction'.Set in London, 1982, the film was based on a case study of a youth. Trevor in the story is a skinhead with a nazi swastika tattooed on his forehead. He espouses racism and nationalist rhetoric, and commits racially aggravated attack on a Pakistani household - although whether he is an outright racist is debatable, as his only 'friend' in the film, Errol, is a black youth.The film begins with Trevor attending a court hearing, for an earlier attack on the Pakistani household. The motive for the crime appears to be racial. The court hearing adjourned, Trevor is taken by Harry, his social worker, to a Youth Assessment Hostel. Here Trevor will be assessed before returning to court for sentence and standing before the Magistrates charged with theft from a department store.Trevor has the appearance of an unrepentant thug and hooligan - and espouses the rhetoric of a far-right nationalist, full of aggression and venom. However, as it unfolds during the film's central piece (a very long sequence between Trevor and the social workers) Trevor transpires to be intelligent. He has argument and structure to his rhetoric, he has sharp wit and an observant grasp of society beyond his years. By the end of the sequence, whether Trevor is the 'nazi' we thought him to be, is questionable.Trevor, it would seem, is 'against authority' and namely against the British establishment - the system - although he prizes himself on his 'Britishness'. He is perhaps a kind of anarchic-patriot.The film is a masterfully crafted and acted piece of cinematic drama. It is earthy and in your face, has fantastic energy - in part owing to skillful use of stedicam - and like most, if not all of Alan Clark's films, does not use music or score. There is a fast aggressive punk song used to very good effect but only in the film's opening and closing titles."Made In Britain" is a tour de force, set among only several back street London locations, with a minimal amount of characters. The characters, though some only occupy one or two scenes, are interestingly multi-layered, such as PC Anson - the thuggish, possibly sadistic policeman who beats Trevor in a cell. Anson is perhaps Trevor's counterpart but who instead has opted to work for the state rather than to rebel against it.The acting is superb, first rate. The screen writing and direction are fantastic. Highly recommended.

tomgillespie2002 Written by David Leland and directed by Alan Clarke, Made in Britain was originally broadcast on the BBC as part of a quartet of pieces dubbed Tales Out of School, all of which shared a focus on Britain's educational system. The films, all written by Leland, were a reaction to Margaret Thatchers political regime, and Made in Britain depicts the sort of character that was emerging from the increasingly violent and racist youth culture of the time.When we first meet Trevor (Tim Roth in his debut), he is being tried in court for throwing a brick through a Pakistani family's window and shoplifting. Defiant to the very end, the 20 year-old neo-Nazi with a swastika tattooed on his face is sent to an Assessment Centre while his fate is determined. There he shares a room with a black teenager with learning difficulties who he takes with him to the Job Centre where he throws a brick through a window and steals a car. Trevor is told by the superintendent that time and time again Trevor has ensured his life will result in an endless cycle of poverty, crime and prison, and this is his last chance to make a choice.Roth is a ferocious force of nature as Trevor. Alan Clarke's films always manage to turn its despicable lead into a charismatic, and almost sympathetic, human being. Normally, someone like Trevor would be an unbearable character to spend 70 minutes with, but Roth, Leland and Clarke make him into a fascinating embodiment of nihilism. The moment during his late-night rampage when he stares perplexed at a shop display of an idealistic family makes for a powerful social message. Everything is "bollocks" and everybody is a "wanker", but there's an empathy to be had with his complete disillusionment with the system. He doesn't even come across a particularly racist, it's almost like it's just another thing for him to hate. Surely one of the best TV movies ever, and a great achievement for the BBC during one of its most creative periods.

davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits Trevor (Tim Roth) is a skinhead with a Nazi symbol tattooed on his forehead roaming the streets of London with no respect and no regard for authority. He's about one step away from prison but first the powers that be are going to try an 'assessment centre', where his behaviour will be monitered and analysed. But will even the threat of prison and this decision be enough to turn him on the straight and narrow? Alan Clarke died in 1990, so his work was just about before my time, but it seems the bloke sure knew how to make a shocking film, with his most well known feature Scum and a few years down the line this very short but undeniably hard-hitting piece (which copies the aforementioned film's effective strategy of not having a soundtrack.) In his debut role, Tim Roth takes the lead and, despite his more calm, composed presence off screen, here he somehow manages to convincingly portray a dangerous and violent rebel completely off the rails and with little hope of redemption. The supporting cast pretty much shimmy in his foot steps.It's nowhere near as graphic or shocking as Scum, but it still manages to hit hard and makes me hope that one day I'll be able to see that other acclaimed film of Clarke's, the football violence drama The Firm. ***

kmp3000 Hey Franz. You obviously don't understand that this is a benchmark film in the career of Tim Roth. It is a classic tale of an urban struggle of a young white man in Thatchers Britain. Coming from experience the film deals with all aspects of "A life gone off the rails" due to "repression" and missunderstanding". Not to say that the lead character Trevor wasn't entirley correct on his views but there are still people in society who have come from broken homes and this film is still relative. By the way if you don't rate this film why the hell are you even on the net writing about it. For all the genuine fans out there i wanna say this is my favorite Roth film and always will be. I am in no way racist and hold no views such as the ones expressed in the film. Thanks. KMP3000