England Is Mine

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England Is Mine is a 2017 British biographical drama about the teenage years of singer Morrissey before he formed the Smiths. Directed by Mark Gill in his feature debut, the film is an unauthorized portrait of Morrissey (played by Jack Lowden) as a shy, dissatisfied teen growing up in Manchester in the 1970s. The title comes from a lyric in the Smiths song Still Ill: “England is mine, and it owes me a living.”

Plot
Steven Patrick Morrissey is withdrawn and unsure of what he wants. He writes for music papers and dreams of art and poetry while his father pushes him to get a job and his mother encourages his writing. He meets artist Linder Sterling (Jessica Brown Findlay), who inspires him to write lyrics and try performing, but she eventually moves to London. He experiments with singing and works on music with guitarist Billy Duffy, though that partnership ends. The story ends in 1982, just before Morrissey would meet Johnny Marr.

Cast
- Jack Lowden as Morrissey
- Jessica Brown Findlay as Linder Sterling
- Laurie Kynaston as Johnny Marr

Production and music
The film covers Morrissey’s early life and does not include his songs due to rights issues. The filmmakers asked actor Jack Lowden not to read Morrissey’s autobiography or watch old TV appearances so the character could stay true to the depiction in the film.

Release
England Is Mine premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on July 2, 2017, and was released in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2017. It ran for 94 minutes.

Reception
The movie received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds about 52% based on 65 reviews, and on Metacritic it scores around 45 out of 100. Critics praised the cast and sense of place but noted the film’s distance from Morrissey and the absence of his music.

Awards
The film was nominated for Politiken’s Audience Award at CPH PIX 2017, Best Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and Best Feature Film at the Milan Film Festival.