A Room For Romeo Brass Reviews

Shane Meadows knows how to do a slow-burner. One of Britain's most powerful filmmakers, Meadows is a master of racketing up the tension in a seemingly ordinary situation. Never stupid, never sensational, he casts his unblinking eye on modern life in the UK and the fragilities of human relationships. If I had to choose between Meadows and Mike Leigh, I would pick Meadows, every time.

"A Room For Romeo Brass" is about how an ordinary friendship can undergo extraordinary duress when a dangerous third party is added to the mix. Two preteen friends, white Gavin and mixed-race Romeo share a brotherly bond that is equal parts camaraderie and constant teasing. Gavin (Ben Marshall,) called 'Knocks,' has a bad back and a limp, and is in transition to another surgery.

He's always up to a bit of mischief, and Romeo (Andrew Shim) is his softer-hearted other half. When a man named Morell (a very young Paddy Considine) rescues Gavin and Romeo from some bigger boys, he seems like a harmless, if eccentric, addition to the group. With his 'Simple Jack' haircut and halting speech, he doesn't readiate 'cool,'but he is friendly and can tell a sensational story like anyone.

The thing about these kinds of stories is, if they sound too good to be true they probably are, but this matters nada to the boys and one of them, Romeo, is sucked in by his dynamic personality. Gavin thinks that Morell is a sucker and good for a mean practical joke. He's deadly wrong. As Morell reveals a dark, violent side, Romeo and Gaivn's friendship is tested to it's outer limits.

Shane Meadows found two good little actors in Shim and Marshall, but Considine is the main draw here. Considine, who would later astonish audiences, including myself, in Shane Meadows' grungy revenge indie "Dead Man's Shoes," puts a unique spin on a character who is probably suffering from an undiagnosed mental disorder.

Like "Sling Blade"'s Karl or "Buddy Boy"'s Francis, Morell's uniqueness is electrifying to watch. At times I was wowed by this apparently simple man's ability to coerce and manipulate, and wondered if his limitations were a ruse and he was, in fact, a very clever psychopath. The truth is much more complicated.

Wait for the precise moment when the up-til-then likably dotty Morel becomes suddenly sinister. It's mind-blowing. "A Room for Romeo Brass" glues your eyes to the screen, and tells a intense story about friendship and betrayal, about a wolf in sheep's clothing who fleetingly wins- if not earns- our sympathy nonetheless. With it's three-dimensional characters and incisive writing, it's nothing less than riviting. Bravo, Shane Meadows. Keep them coming.

A Room For Romeo Brass is a good yet flawed film. It is a very firm and interesting story but there were some things in it that were a bit off about it. First the good things were that it was a very personal, affectionate and depressing story that would get you focused on it throughout the whole film. There was a lot of swearing involved but that was a big thing in this film. If there was hardly any it would be a lame film. It would fit with the story. I will give this film credit for being an extremely underrated film that should be watched but on the other hand there were some things that slightly disappointed me. It was mostly because the ending was very flat and I thought there would be more severe consequences but there wasn't all really which left me very slightly disappointed much to a friend of mine's dismay!


Andrew Shim was absolutely fantastic as Romeo Brass. He is a very troubled young man who hasn't had a very good childhood because of his parents seperation and how his father treated the family. Because of this, Romeo turned out to be a very rude and arrogant boy. Paddy Considine delivers a very powerful performance as Morell that was very threatening and dangerous to be around. Considine is an actor who has received praise in only a few of the films he's done. This and Hot Fuzz are his most famous works in my opinion. I did like Considine in The Bourne Ultimatum despite he wasn't in it for a great amount of time. Morell is a man who becomes close friends with young boys Romeo and Gavin after he rescues Romeo from a couple of boys who were beating him up. Morell then starts to turn to Romeo's older sister Ladine who he has "feelings" for. He becomes very obsessed with her and her brother Romeo and his best friend Gavin. I could tell by this because he was around them all the time and wouldn't leave them a moment's peace.


Shane Meadows is a brilliant director. I loved his work on This Is England and I liked his work in this one too. A Room For Romeo Brass is a film that is deeply personal and can be quite hard to watch on occasions. It is more of a drama than a crime film whereas This Is England is more of a crime film than a drama even though that had drama within it.


I do still think Paddy's best performance is Hot Fuzz. Shane Meadows best film is still This Is England. I did love that one a lot! A Room For Romeo Brass is a good film that I enjoyed watching but didn't love. There were some things that I thought were a bit off about this film but apart from that it was a good film that I am glad I watched.