Made in Britain
Made in Britain is a 1982 British television play written by David Leland, and directed by Alan Clarke, about a 16-year-old racist skinhead named Trevor (played by Tim Roth), and his constant confrontations with authority figures. It was originally broadcast on ITV on 10 July 1983 as fourth in an untitled series of works by Leland (including Birth of a Nation), loosely based on the British educational system, which subsequently acquired the overall title of Tales Out of School. As with many Alan Clarke works, the director attempts to depict English working-class life realistically, without moralising or complex plots. The play features strong language, violence, racism and an anti-establishment feeling. Cinematographer Chris Menges's use of the Steadicam contributed to the fluid and gritty atmosphere of the play.[1]
| Made in Britain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Alan Clarke |
| Produced by | Margaret Matheson Patrick Cassavetti |
| Written by | David Leland |
| Starring | Tim Roth |
| Music by | The Exploited |
| Cinematography | Chris Menges |
| Edited by | Steve Singleton |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | ITV |
Release date |
|
Running time | 76 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
The play begins with a defiant Trevor being tried in court charged with throwing a brick through the window of a Pakistani man, Mr. Shahnawaz. He has also been charged with shoplifting from Harrods. Trevor's social worker, Harry Parker (Eric Richard) takes him to Hooper Street Residential Assessment Centre, where his punishment will be determined.[1] The centre's deputy superintendent, Peter Clive (Bill Stewart), admits Trevor, and he's allocated a room with Errol (Terry Richards).
The next day, Trevor leaves the assessment centre, to look for jobs. Trevor, accompanied by Errol, breaks into a car and drives to the job centre. Near the job centre, he buys Evo-Stik for huffing,[2][3] and immediately enters the job centre. Trevor barges past the queue, demanding a job from the attendant. When asked to wait, he storms out, and hurls a brick through the window. He makes his escape, and walks with Errol to an abandoned swimming pool where he has hidden some tools. Trevor pockets the tools, and hands Errol a bunch of keys, instructing him to get it into the centre, and hide it.[3] He then breaks into another car, and takes it and drives away.[2] He orders Errol to get out, saying he is visiting some mates.
Later, Trevor is eating a burger in the car. Peter Clive arrives and notices Trevor in the car. Trevor discards the sandwich and walks into the assessment centre. Peter Clive tells him to get rid of the car.[3] Trevor agrees.
Inside the assessment centre, Trevor refuses to co-operate. He demands lunch, only to be informed that he is too late. In a rage, he tries kicking down the cafeteria door. The chef (Jim Dunk) rushes out, only to be kicked in the groin by Trevor, who unleashes a vicious attack on him,[3] before being stopped by care worker Barry Giller (Sean Chapman). Trevor is then held down by the chef and Barry, and locked up in a room.[4]
The superintendent (Geoffrey Hutchings) arrives, proceeding to show Trevor an overview of what he has been through and where he is heading - prison.[5] He explains that the assessment centre is Trevor's last chance to change the cycle of poverty, crime and prison.[3] Uncharacteristically, Trevor is not aggressive and is lost for words. The superintendent is extremely articulate and faces little resistance from Trevor. As soon as the superintendent leaves, Trevor is back to his usual self. He rants articulately, if haphazardly, about his views on race, authority, and the British educational and correctional systems. [1][6] Trevor refuses to keep the peace, and eventually Barry and Peter decide to send him to a secure unit. However, while Barry is out making arrangements to send Trevor away, Peter offers to take Trevor banger racing if he promises to behave.[3] Trevor accepts the offer, on condition that he be allowed to drive. Peter informs Barry about the change of plans, and warns Trevor that he is doing him a favour by giving him another chance, and that if Trevor lets him down, he'll team up with the chef and some of the biggest lads in the centre to beat up Trevor.
They go to the races as planned and Trevor is given a chance to drive, as promised. Trevor seems to enjoy the experience, but gets into an accident, after which his car will not restart. Trevor is unable to complete the race. On the drive back to the assessment centre, Peter informs Trevor that he was up against professional racers and did well. He also tells him that he could join a racing team if he wished, and need not go around stealing cars any longer. Trevor makes no reply, and blankly stares out the window.
They reach the assessment centre late and have to be let in by the janitor, since Peter cannot find his keys. After everybody has retired to bed, Trevor wakes up Errol and shows him Peter Clive's keys, which Trevor claims to have picked up after Peter dropped them.[3] Trevor and Errol make their way into the office, where Trevor rummages through the documents until he finds their respective files. Trevor reads through Errol's reports and contract, and finds a report titled "The Future", which reads:
It seems unlikely for this child to return home, his mother having rejected him for her own lifestyle. Bearing this in mind, future care seems to be the alternative. We would recommend a care order be made, in order to be able to continue our assessment of his needs.
He then proclaims to Errol "You're in here for life, mate!" Errol looks confused and dejected and asks "What'll I do?" Trevor is enraged. He drops the files on the floor and tells Errol to urinate and defecate on it. Errol defecates on his files, and Trevor urinates on his.[3][7]
Trevor and Errol get out of the assessment centre, and drive away in the centre's Ford Transit van. They reach Mr. Shahnawaz's neighbourhood and hurl stones through the windows, and scream racial slurs. They get into the van and drive away. Trevor drives to a police station, and smashes the van into a car. Errol is rendered unconscious by the impact. Trevor exits the van and runs away, leaving Errol to be apprehended by the police.[1]
Trevor begins walking to Harry Parker's apartment. On his way, Trevor looks into a shop window displaying a television, clothes, mannequins, and other items. He stares at them and their accompanying price tags, intently.[4] He begins running into a tunnel, and screams "Bollocks!" Inside the tunnel, he discards his T-shirt, and screams at a passing vehicle after trying to kick it. Trevor walks past a school, presumably his, pausing to gaze through the iron gates before continuing on his way.
It is early morning by the time Trevor reaches Harry Parker's home. Harry is busy packing, and is preparing to leave on a holiday with his family. He is displeased to see Trevor in this state. He tells him to go back to the assessment centre before it is too late. Trevor informs Harry of his misadventures, and tells him that he is turning himself in. Harry eventually makes the necessary calls to the police.[3]
Trevor is seen in a prison cell, pressing the buzzer in the room. The police officer orders him to keep his hands off the buzzer. Trevor walks away, but returns and proceeds to press the buzzer with his head. This time, another officer, PC Anson (Christopher Fulford) enters, with a truncheon. He orders Trevor to stay quiet, but Trevor continues to provoke him, saying that he is a juvenile offender, and that he must be taken care of and sent back to the assessment centre. Anson orders him to shut up and sit down. He tells Trevor that he would be taken to court in a few days, and this time he will end up in a detention centre or a borstal, not an assessment centre. He threatens to have his fingerprints taken as soon as he leaves the borstal, and use them to convict him of every unsolved taking and driving away in the district, dating back months. Trevor is still unfazed and sarcastically sneers "Sounds great!" Anson is livid, and brings the truncheon down, hitting Trevor on the kneecap.[4] PC Anson smiles and says, 'You think you're hard, don't you?' Trevor, for the first time, looks defeated. He slumps in agony and shock, his face reddening. The warder tells Trevor that he is all talk, and decries his protests, saying that he has no choice but to respect authority and obey the rules, like everybody else.
The play ends with Trevor recovering from the pain and grinning, as the warders shut the door of his cell.[4]
Cast
- Tim Roth as Trevor
- Bill Stewart as Peter Clive
- Geoffrey Hutchings as the Superintendent
- Terry Richards as Errol
- Eric Richard as Harry Parker
- Sean Chapman as Barry Giller
- Christopher Fulford as P.C. Anson
Production
After successful collaborations on previous projects like Beloved Enemy and Psy-Warriors, writer David Leland and director Alan Clarke were keen to team up again. Producer Margaret Matheson, whom had worked with both Leland and Clarke before (most notably on the original version of Scum (television play)) was taking over as Head of Drama at the-then newly created Central Television. Matheson was keen to develop a project about education and a series of 4 one-off plays eventually broadcast under the umbrella title "Tales Out Of School" was commissioned.
David Leland, when interviewed in 1998, recalled that Clarke was initially reluctant to commit to the directing duties of Made In Britain- "he was trying then to do Contact; his mind was elsewhere [...] it was only because we were friends, we could meet and talk about Made In Britain."
Made In Britain is notable as one of the first British television dramas (and Clarke's first production) to make use of the steadicam. Fellow director Stephen Frears, who at that point was in the process of editing his film Walter, noted that his cameraman on that project- Chris Menges- was a "huge influence" on Clarke using the steadicam. Recalling the filming process in a 1998 interview, he noted that "Made In Britain was written very powerfully, and it had these rather long sequences which posed certain technical problems [...] he [Clarke] found a piece of equipment that liberated him from that." Clarke became so enamored with the technical properties of the steadicam that it would be used repeatedly throughout the rest of his filmed work throughout the 1980s, most notably on the BBC dramas Christine (1986), Road (1987), Elephant and The Firm (both 1989). Former BBC director of plays Chris Morahan noted that "Steadicam was the trigger for his creativity."
Despite being a production relatively free of complications, problems arose with the filming of the original ending. As scripted, the final shot of the production was to feature Trevor, now confined to a borstal, digging trenches in the backyard with all the other inmates and encouraging them to 'dig for Britain'. As David Leland noted in a 2016 interview accompanying the re-release of the play for Tales Out Of School DVD collection, "I'm a country boy...I assumed everyone knew what trenching was." Director Clarke misunderstood the directions in the script, resulting in a scene where the borstal inmates are digging seemingly randomly placed holes. Deemed unsatisfactory and with insufficient funds to re-film it, the televised film closes on a freeze-frame of Trevor's grinning face in police custody. Screenshots and script directions from the original ending are enclosed on the aforementioned DVD.
Music
The music in the opening scene is the song "UK82" by Scottish punk rock band The Exploited. The album Council Estate of Mind by Skinnyman extensively samples the dialogue of the film.
References
- "DVD Outsider: Made In Britain Synopsis and Review". Retrieved on 25 June 2008.
- "Channel 4: Made In Britain Review". Retrieved on 25 June 2008.
- "BFI Screenonline: Made In Britain Synopsis". Retrieved on 27 June 2008.
- Grunert, Andrea. "Emotion and Cognition: About Some Key-Figures in Films by Alan Clarke Archived 16 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine". Artbrain. Retrieved on 25 June 2008.
- "BFI Screenonline: Made In Britain Review". Retrieved on 25 June 2008.
- Nightingale, Chris. "A Taste of the British: Made In Britain Review Archived 2 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved on 25 June 2008.
- "DVD Verdict: Made In Britain Review Archived 26 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved on 25 June 2008.