How Eden Lake Reflects Broken Britain
It is hardly surprising that a film with such graphic violence – most of which involves children – was met with such controversy. Before director James Watkins adapted the classic Susan Hill ghost story The Woman in Black, he explored a much more real fear in the white-knuckle thriller Eden Lake. Michael Fassbender and Kelly Reilly play Steve and Jenny who travel to Eden Lake, a once pleasant open area which has since been developed by a construction company. Before long, their peaceful getaway becomes a fight for survival after a confrontation with a local gang of youths, led by the increasingly dangerous Brett (Jack O’Connell). While the plot may not break new ground, Eden Lake soars high above an average slasher for its social commentary. Though Watkins has frequently denied that he intended the movie to reflect the state of social decay in Britain at the time, the movie’s observations of class divide and “Broken Britain” are irrefutably apparent.
“Broken Britain” was a term coined in 2007 – a year before Eden Lake was released – used to describe Britain’s social issues of youth crime, gang violence, and anti-social behavior. Each of these issues is shown in its grimmest form in the movie. Politicians pledged to fix the issues surrounding “Broken Britain” and, as a result, several British films were made to exploit fears of so-called “hoodies”. The wearing of a hoodie in such a way has become associated with teenagers who intimidate and threaten innocent bystanders for little reason other than to cause trouble. ‘Hoodie horrors’, or movies that feature hoodies as antagonists were not uncommon between 2007 and 2010 with movies like Harry Brown, Cherry Tree Lane, and Heartless similarly reflecting “Broken Britain”. These hysterical attitudes which stemmed from the term were very much influenced by the media. Eden Lake is seen as the first ‘hoodie horror’, and it is perhaps the most thorough exploration of “Broken Britain”. Once the gut-punching ending comes, it opens up a lot more room for discussion on the topic. The film had – and continues to have – such an effect on its audience because of how real it feels. There are no supernatural beings or fantastical elements, it is a simple cautionary tale executed in the most unapologetic way.
During the opening credits, Steve and Jenny’s car radio plays several news stories about teenagers’ anti-social behaviors, and parents struggling to afford to live and keep control of their children – all of which eerily foreshadows the events of the movie. None of this is ever addressed by Steve or Jenny as it is clearly of no concern to them. They are a happy, middle-class couple without any children of their own, and once they arrive at Eden Lake and its surrounding areas, they clearly have a dislike towards the working class. This is something they themselves may not even be aware of, but they mock the way the locals talk, criticize their parenting, and act irritated by all those around them all within the movie’s opening ten minutes.
Their arrogance actually makes them quite unlikeable, and they are far from the typical, likeable protagonists we would root for in a cat-and-mouse movie such as this one. Essentially, they only make it to Eden Lake because they intrude onto the area and deliberately ignore the ‘Keep Out’ signs. Steve, in particular, is a very egotistical character, who dislikes his masculinity being challenged. The class conflict which bubbles under the surface turns horrifically violent following the confrontation between the couple and the gang. Eden Lake’s rural setting gives the gang the advantage as it is their local area and, under Brett’s demands, they all commit torturous acts on Jenny and Steve, until the couple is forced to fight back in order to survive. Brett’s unhinged and out-of-control personality sees him even murder some of his own gang members.
While gang leader Brett displays alarming psychopathic behavior, the movie’s ending somewhat changes the audience’s attitudes towards him. In the movie’s harrowing finale, a severely injured Jenny manages to stumble into a house full of adults who are gradually revealed to be the parents of all the gang members. Once this revelation comes to light, the parents’ actions shockingly start to mirror that of their children. Jon (Shaun Dooley), Brett’s father, acts as ringleader and instructs the rest of them to do as he says, just as Brett has done for the whole movie. Jenny’s fate is chillingly left ambiguous.
The movie offers a chilling explanation for Brett's behavior when we see that he is verbally and physically abused by his father. Jon’s aggression, along with the immediate desire for vengeance by the rest of the parents demonstrates the negative parental influence, which was often used as an explanation for young persons’ behavior in “Broken Britain”. The final shot of Brett wearing Steve’s sunglasses and ridding his phone of evidence shows a different side to him, and his blank stare appears to be one of remorse and confusion rather than satisfaction. Rightly or wrongly, this makes him, and the rest of the gang tragic characters, and it poses new questions as to who the real antagonists are in the movie.
The brutality and grimness of Eden Lake only make it a more effective watch. Whether it was Watkins’ intention or not, it is a tragic reflection of youth crime that plagued Britain’s news stories at the time of the movie’s release. The concerns over “Broken Britain” are shown through the behaviors Brett’s gang exhibits, and the revelation that this is learned behavior from their parents is a tragic reflection on the situation. Eden Lake's ending was met with criticism for forwarding the notion that working-class people are all mentally unstable. The media’s tendency to exaggerate appears to have fueled the premise of Eden Lake, and it has been criticized for demonizing the working class. However, the consistent realism is what makes it truly disturbing, and there is much to digest in retrospect. Eden Lake is a brutal battle between the classes in which there are no winners, and it is a traumatic reflection of “Broken Britain”.
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