How does the actor become the character and suspend our disbelief?
For this task, I have decided to study Stephen Graham's performance in Shane Meadow's This Is England. I have chosen to analyse Stephen Graham's performance in This Is England because I feel he delivers a very epic performance. I believe his character shows the younger generations of what glorious Britain used to be like back in the '80s and how people thought of other cultures. Graham plays the character of Combo who is a man of about 30, known at first only by the character of Woody. Everyone sees him as one of the original, proper skinheads. He is seen as a role model to the rest of the characters because of his age and from what Woody tells them. His age gives him the respect and authority. In This Is England when Combo is first introduced we find out that he is racist and very patriotic, as one of the characters has black ethnicity, and racial insults are directed towards him. Although the insults aren't actually aimed literally at Milky (the black character), as an audience we know that he is aiming the insults at the black community. We find from this that there are certain characters of the group who are also racist because of their reactions to the story he is telling. The characters are a bit uneasy after their first experience with Milky, knowing he has offended one of the characters and you can see that when Combo turns up at the cafe where they're all sat. There is almost an awkward silence just as he walks in, as if they are fearful of him. Combo tries to enforce his views and leadership over the skinheads and this forces a split between Woody’s group. Shaun (the youngest member of the group) decides to go with Combo instead of Woody's apolitical skinheads. A bit later on the film, Combo becomes depressed after Woody's girlfriend Lol rejects him. Combo claims that he has loved her ever since they had a drunken one night stand years ago. Due to his depression he buys some cannabis off Milky. This leads to the party involving Combo's group and Milky, which I have chosen to study. One thing that is important about Combo's character is his image. He presents himself as an older skinhead with strong political views about England and immigration. Looking at his costume you can tell this alone, because he wears everything that fits to the stereotypical skinhead. This compromises of chequered shirts buttoned up, jeans and Dr Martens boots. It is noticeable that at the party he is really enjoying himself socialising, and with him being under the influence, there is a mellow tone about. You can see from his facial expressions that he is enjoying himself, that he loves socialising. Although this could be because of the drink, his attitude towards Milky changes, seems like he actually doesn’t mind being in his presence. His tone is very light-hearted and warming, which is quite different to the Combo that we have been watching all the way throughout the film. His body language suggests that he is very relaxed and is genuinely have a good time drinking with his group and Milky; that he is overcoming his depression. However, there is one moment in this scene which suggests that something might happen to Milky. This is when Milky first walks in and Combo asks whether anybody has a problem, and it takes Banjo longer to answer than the rest. This connotes that he hesitating about saying it is ‘no problem’ for milky to be here. I found this quite ambiguous, that it’s no problem for Milky to be in their presence but also it could suggest that Milky will be no problem to deal with, as if they’re going to hurt him and he’ll be helpless. You can see in this scene that the tone has lifted but there is still an element of fear, and this is purely from his accent. In modern culture there has been the prejudice that scousers or Liverpudlians are the scum of Britain, and with Combo being scouse you still feel on edge watching him, that something might happen. His interaction with the props and set make us truly believe that it is his house, that he has made himself ‘at home’. This is clear when you can see him laid out on a sofa, with his back against the wall, as if he does that regularly. You can tell by looking at Combo that he is comfortable as his character, and we genuinely believe that the other characters are his friends, and it isn’t just acting. We notice whilst watching this scene, that the tone has changed as there is a silence in the room, and Combo’s voice becomes quieter. This is then assured when the music stops and Combo asks Milky about his personal life, asking ‘so how many uncles have you got?’ This escalates further and further with Milky telling Combo about his family, and childhood. It almost seems as if Milky is bragging about his family and this infuriates Combo. You can see the real emotion in his eyes that he is nervous (this is clear from him biting his nails) and jealous of what Milky had had, because he wasn’t as fortunate. Combo looks a little uneasy, and viewers get the impression that something sad is going to happen due to the introduction of some soft melodic music. Following this, it is becomes so clear that the tone has changed and something is going to happen to Milky when Combo says ‘you’ve go’ everything you, haven’ ya?’ in his Liverpudlian accent, highlighting his jealousy. His facial expressions begin to change and he begins to direct racial insults towards Milky. Everyone recognises that someone is going to happen to Milky and everyone but Banjo seems concerned for Milky’s wellbeing. Combo’s body language suggests that he is irate and is ready for a fight. His interaction with the characters changes, he seems much more aggressive and antisocial. His face starts quivering showing that he is feeling quite emotional. You see that the tone of the party has completely changed when Combo says ‘you’re a nigger aren’t you?’ showing his discrimination and prejudice for people of his ethnicity. Combo continues to insult him and then starts to beat him up as Milky smiles at one of the insults. Everyone in the party sees this to be wrong, except Banjo who’s smiling. Banjo then stops laughing as Combo takes his anger out on everybody else. I think this is a really good performance from Graham as it’s showing the tension that has built up and his hatred for the black community. Combo then tries to help Milky, and you can see he feels remorse and guilt for what he has done. This is made clear when he starts crying, showing his confusion. The music at the end helps to make this scene really emotional. I think this is a really gripping performance from Graham as it is showing the mental instability of some people. This performance helped me understand about the hatred for the black community and views on immigration, and why a certain selection of people hates asylum seekers and immigrants.
