Shane Meadows is a renowned British director and writer known for his distinct cinematic style and chronicles working-class life in England. Many of the Bafta-winning director’s films are set in and around the East Midlands.

We asked resident writer Mark Bishop to rank Meadows’ most well known movies…

6 – Once Upon A Time in the Midlands (2002)

Once Upon A Time in the Midlands is a real departure for Meadows and was only saved from being a run-of-the-mill British family comedy by stellar performances from Shirley Henderson, Ricky Tomlinson, Kathy Burke and Robert Carlyle. It was Meadows’ biggest box office hit to date — but failed to wow the critics, who had championed Meadows’ previous efforts. This romantic drama set in, you guessed it…the East Midlands, sees a petty criminal return to his former town of residence to win back his ex, and rebuild their relationship. It has its charms, but for a Meadows effort it’s a bit of a disappointment as it fails to make much of an impression. It’s probably wise to stick to gritty social realism, Shane, rather than dabble in comedy.

5 – Somers Town (2008)

Somers Town is a slight, gentle, sweet-natured film shot in black and white, and blessed with a lovely performance from Meadows’ great find, Thomas Turgoose but is probably best known for being sponsored by Eurostar. Here we follow two unlikely teenage friends, the homeless Tomo (Turgoose) and aspiring Polish photographer Marek (Piotr Jagiello) who both develop a crush on local French waitress Maria (Elisa Lasowski). When she vanishes, heartbreakingly, back to Paris, our two leads vow to track her down – by travelling on Eurostar of course. Turgoose once again delivers a brilliant performance but the movie is too short and a little thin on plot — although it does feature some very wonderful dialogue. Watchable but is nowhere near being the strongest film in the Meadows selection.

4 – A Room for Romeo Brass (1999)

A Room for Romeo Brass handed cinematic debuts to both lead actor Andrew Shim (Romeo Brass), and Paddy Considine (Morrell), who went on to have glittering careers in both TV and film particularly in the case of Considine. The movie follows the story of childhood friends and neighbours Romeo and Gavin as they befriend an odd and creepy man, Morrell who manipulates a suggestible Romeo and jeopardises the pair’s friendship. Considine manages to be both hilarious and utterly terrifying ias Morell. A Room for Romeo Brass is a rather simple film — but quite powerful. Brass manages to charm its audience with its lovable characters and flashes of suspense.

3 – TwentyFourSeven

Set in Nottingham, Twenty Four Seven is a black and white coming-of-age sports drama focused around Alan Darcy (Bob Hoskins), who as a youth avoided getting sucked into gang life by taking out his aggression at a boxing club. Years later, the same temptations threaten to lure a new generation into a downward spiral. With financial help from gangster Ronnie Marsh (Frank Harper), Alan reopens the gym he went to in his youth and tries training his troubled recruits for a public boxing match. Meadows draws out a tour de force performance from Hoskins —It’s worth a watch just for his performance alone. TwentyFourSeven follows the familiar formulaic path of Brit working-class films of the late 90s, but in my view is less appealing.

2 – Dead Man’s Shoes

Paddy Considine stunned audiences with his performance in Meadows’ gritty psychological thriller Dead Man’s Shoes. Considine plays Richard, a former soldier who returns home seeking revenge after he discovers the truth behind his disabled brother Andrew’s suicide. Richard’s pursues those he holds responsible, with recurring hallucigenic flashbacks of the build-up to Anthony’s untimely death delivering a powerful backstory. Meadows also makes us identify with Richard’s victims, adding rare emotion to each execution. Dead Man’s Shoes is an amazingly brutal, challenging, and beautiful film, with two superb central performances at its core. I love it

1 – This is England

This Is England is a tale of friendship, belonging and the importance of identity. The film stars Thomas Turgoose as 12-year-old Shaun, who is burdened by both the death of his father and school bullies. Shaun attaches himself to a group of fun-loving, late-adolescent skinheads who welcome him into their clan, a warm, socially accepting, and indiscriminate group whose only membership requirement are to shave your head and adopt the fashion of Fred Perry and Dr. Marten. This is England is a brilliant piece of filmmaking and provides an amazing look into the perspective of racist skinheads and shows how racism and violence come from a place of pain and fear. It can be a troubling and difficult watch but with a superb plot and sensational acting it’s well worth the effort.