Line #30 Film/AFieldInEngland


1	[[quoteright:346:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a-field-in-england_3971.jpg]]
2
3	->''"Open up and let the Devil in."''
4	-->-- O'Neil
5
6	''A Field in England'' is a 2013 [[GenreBusting psychedelic historical drama]] set during the UsefulNotes/EnglishCivilWar, directed by Creator/BenWheatley. Filmed on a low budget in [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black and white]], it follows the adventures of a group of deserters and their descent into hallucinogen-induced madness.
7
8	The obsequious alchemist's assistant Whitehead ([[Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen Reece Shearsmith]]) is searching for an Irishman named O'Neil (Creator/MichaelSmiley), who has stolen some items of great value from his master. He flees from his strict commander Trower ([[Series/TheMightyBoosh Julian Barratt]]) during a skirmish, and meets a man called Cutler along with two deserted soldiers, Jacob and Friend. Cutler entices the others to come along with him with the promise of stopping off at an alehouse. However, he soon reveals himself as O'Neil's accomplice. The two are searching for buried treasure, and take the three other men captive to help them find it, with the aid of psychedelic mushrooms.
9
10	The film is notable for being released simultaneously on television, in cinemas, on DVD and as a Video on Demand on Friday, 5th July 2013. As of August 2019, the full film is available for free on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lofR1HO_c70 Youtube]].
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12	----
13	!!This Film Provides Examples Of:
14
15	* AgonyOfTheFeet: First Friend retaliates to an attack by Jacob by jabbing his spade into his foot. During the Showdown, [[spoiler:Jacob almost shoots O'Neil's foot off with a musket. Followed by a slow motion closeup of the remaining bone snapping under his weight.]]
16	* ArtificialHuman: It's hinted that Whitehead is a homunculus of some sort. After his [[spoiler: torture at O’Neil’s hands, he begins vomiting strange stones with runes on them, to both his and O’Neil’s surprise.]]
17	* AsideGlance: PlayedForDrama in the scene where Whitehead is led into a tent, [[spoiler: where he is presumably tortured]]. Friend and Jacob kneel with their heads bowed, and Jacob then looks up into the camera with an apprehensive expression.
18	* BadassBoast: After O’Neil asserts that Whitehead cannot escape the field, Whitehead shouts that if O’Neil’s correct, Whitehead will ''become'' the field instead.
19	* BadassBookworm: O'Neil is a lot more dangerous than the average alchemist - hitting a man in the face with a shovel is one of his less violent acts.
20	* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Jacob is noticeably less abrasive to Whitehead after the latter makes him a poultice to [[UnusualEuphemism soothe his yard.]]
21	* BadassCape: O'Neil shows his off [[http://colourschool.co.uk/2013/10/a-field-in-england/ to eerie effect]].
22	* BerserkButton: Don't call O'Neil a fool or question the efficacy of his or Whitehead's magic. [[spoiler: When Cutler does both, after O'Neil fails to find treasure in the spot that Whitehead indicates, O'Neil's response is to shoot his brains out]].
23	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Whitehead proves to be far more capable of violence than first impressions would indicate, once he musters a little self-confidence.
24	* BewitchedAmphibians: O'Neil threatens to turn Jacob into a frog when the latter mouths off to him. Later on, Jacob has a check-up with Whitehead, who assures him that the pustules on his genitals derive from a venereal disease (most likely syphilis), rather than being a sign of slow amphibian transformation, as he had feared. In fact, being turned into a frog is one of few complaints Jacob ''isn't'' suffering from.
25	* BigBad: O'Neil.
26	* BlackComedy: The often demented sense of the story makes it veer into this territory often. Some prominent examples can be seen below:
27	** As Whitehead's group is still getting their bearings in the field, Jacob walks off to take a shit. [[GilliganCut What follows next involves]] [[ScreamDiscretionShot Jacob screaming in agony]] [[spoiler: [[BowelBreakingBricks as his shit is absolutely constipated]]]].
28	--> '''Friend:''' "[[DeadpanSnarker Are you dead, friend?]]"
29	--> '''Jacob:''' "...'''''[[AtomicFBomb FFFFFFFFUUUUUUCCCCCKKKK YOOOOOOOUUUUUU!!!!!]]'''''"
30	** When O'Neil drags Whitehead's party off to dig up the treasure, Jacob suddenly stops the march, and gives O'Neil his shovel, politely explaining that [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere he was not interested in digging up the treasure, and wanted to leave the party]]. [[BadBoss O'Neil responds by]] [[ShovelStrike smacking Jacob in the face with the shovel]], and tells him to quit being lazy and get to work.
31	** Whitehead’s [[OnlySaneMan moments of frustration]] at Jacob and Friend’s antics early on can come across as this.
32	--> '''Whitehead ''' ''[smacking Friend’s hand away from his face] '' What is it with you and hands?!
33	* BondOneLiner: Cutler says "Looks like your prayers are answered" to Whitehead after he shoots Captain Trower.
34	* BookEnds: The film begins and ends with [[spoiler: shaky footage of Whitehead moving through the hedgerow. In the first sequence, he's running in a blind panic away from the battle, and in the second he's moving with determination towards it]].
35	* BookWorm: Whitehead says "I find pages easier to turn than people".
36	* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler: Cutler]] and [[spoiler: O'Neil]] both die this way, with the latter getting his ''whole'' face blown off.
37	* BowelBreakingBricks: Jacob has to take a massive shit early in the film, and ends up screaming in pain due to apparent constipation. The other guys have fun at his expense.
38	--> '''Friend:''' Is it a boy or a girl?
39	* BrownNote: Just listen for when the rope drags the four into the next field.
40	* ButtMonkey: Jacob suffers the most indignities out of the cast. First he gets painfully constipated, then he falls and hits his balls on stinging nettles, then O'Neil hits him in the face with a shovel, then it's discovered he has syphilis and Whitehead has to examine his penis, and ''then'' Cutler pisses on him.
41	** Whitehead himself is constantly being made fun of for his dorky and nebbish mannerisms, although he doesn't suffer as much physical misfortune as Jacob.
42	* ChromosomeCasting: Somewhat understandable, given the limited cast and wartime setting. Sara Dee, the only actress in the film, [[MushroomSamba voices the field]]. Jacob lampshades the trope at one point.
43	-->''"What this party lacks is the civilising influence of women"''
44	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Friend claims that the fresh air between his ears is good for his health. This may [[UnexplainedRecovery be more true than initially thought]].
45	* ColdBloodedTorture: [[spoiler: O'Neil performs some sort of horrific torture upon Whitehead as part of a spell to turn him into a human divining rod so he can locate the treasure]]. We don't see what's actually happening to him, but [[ScreamDiscretionShot we hear the screams]]. [[NothingIsScarier Not knowing what exactly happened arguably makes the scene scarier.]]
46	* CowardlyLion: Whitehead. At least to begin with.
47	* DeadToBeginWith: [[http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-latest/a-field-in-england/5057950.article At least one review]] has [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory interpreted]] the eponymous Field as being some kind of purgatory. Much is made of the fact that the characters are physically separated from the battlefield by a hedgerow, and they are headed to an [[OffscreenAfterlife alehouse]] that may or may not exist. [[spoiler: The supernatural events that occur later in the film, such as characters apparently coming back from the dead, give further credence to this theory]].
48	* DeadpanSnarker: Friend, as well as O'Neil to a lesser degree.
49	** Jacob indulges in this on occasion:
50	--->'''Whitehead:''' ''[ranting through his MushroomSamba]'' I might write a book! ''[[TitleDrop A Field in England]]: or, the Myriad Particulars of the Corn Weevil''. \
51	'''Jacob: ''' Catchy.
52	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The whole movie's in black and white.
53	* DerangedAnimation: Appropriately enough, given the nature of the film, the fractal logo animation for Rook Films was made by WebAnimation/{{Cyriak}}.
54	* DidISayThatOutLoud: [[spoiler: After [[TooDumbToLive Cutler calls O'Neil]] a "[[BerserkButton charlatan and a fool]]" for believing his and Whitehead's alchmical ability to be real, [[ThatCameOutWrong he desperately claims he was trying to say something else]], and [[AintTooProudToBeg pleads for his life]] - all while [[TranquilFury O'Neil calmly]] [[BoomHeadshot slides the pistol into his mouth...]]]]
55	* DirtyCoward: Whitehead starts the film running for his life from an ambush and acknowledges himself as a coward. He [[TookALevelInBadass gets better eventually]].
56	* TheDragon: Cutler, to O'Neil.
57	* DramaticWind: One is apparently conjured up by [[spoiler: Whitehead]] after ingesting a load of magic mushrooms. [[spoiler: It's crucial to defeating O'Neil]].
58	* DroneOfDread: Most of the soundtrack.
59	* TheEeyore: Friend is passively resigned to living a life of suffering.
60	* [[EvilSorcerer Evil Alchemist]]: O'Neil has at least some genuine magical ability and is the main antagonist. It's implied that the treasure in the field will make him more powerful.
61	* EldritchLocation: The field doesn't seem to be wholly connected to this reality.
62	* EmbarrassingHobby: Whitehead admits to having picked up lace-making in his spare time. O’Neil [[TextileWorkIsFeminine doesn’t think very highly of it]]
63	* FightingIrish: O'Neil is a badass Irish alchemist.
64	--> '''Friend:''' It's no surprise to me that the devil's an Irishman, though I thought he might be taller.
65	* ForeShadowing:
66	** "We shall sample a better quality of suffering in this man's company, I am certain".
67	** Early on in the film, Whitehead sees two mysterious figures standing in the smoke on the edge of the battlefield that appear to resemble Jacob and Friend. He claims to disregard them as simple shadows.
68	* GainaxEnding: After apparently accomplishing his task and [[spoiler:leaving as the sole survivor of the group]], Whitehead suddenly encounters Jacob and Friend [[spoiler:alive and well, looking at him]]. The film ends with a tableau of all three standing together.
69	* TheGhost: Whitehead and O'Neil's unseen, unnamed master.
70	* GroinAttack: While taking a rather painful shit in the bushes, Jacob falls over and hits his bare balls on some stinging nettles, causing him to howl in pain.
71	* HandCannon: O'Neil carries a massive doglock pistol that is shown to be capable of blowing limbs off.
72	* HeWhoFightsMonsters: During the showdown, Whitehead deliberately eats large quantities of the strange mushrooms in the belief that it will give him the same powers as O'Neil. [[spoiler:After he kills O'Neil, he literally [[TakingUpTheMantle takes up the mantle]] and hat, and gathers his magic notes and mirror, seemingly picking up O'Neil's work.]]
73	* HiddenAgendaVillain: It's never explained what the treasure is or what O'Neil intends to do with it, though his comments imply a desire to radically transform English society.
74	* HitlerCam: O'Neil is shot this way to emphasize the power he has over the group of deserters.
75	* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: When O'Neil explains his plan, he uses sexual metaphors and caresses Whitehead's face. [[spoiler: Because of this, some viewers have speculated that whatever torture happened in the tent scene involved rape.]]
76	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Cutler kills Commander Trower by impaling him with a pike at the beginning of the film.
77	* ItsTheJourneyThatCounts: [[spoiler: After Cutler only finds old bones in the ground instead of treasure, Whitehead suggests that the friendship between him and Jacob was the real treasure. Jacob scoffs that it is a pretty sentiment, but Whitehead would no doubt starve on his own.]]
78	* LastNameBasis: Whitehead, Cutler, Trower and O'Neil.
79	* LeeroyJenkins: At the climax, Friend thinks the best way to take care of O'Neil is [[spoiler: to charge at him in the open with a spear, even though O'Neil has a gun. Predictably, it fails.]] It's implied he did it as a deliberate HeroicSacrifice, however.
80	* {{Macguffin}}: Both the alehouse and the buried treasure are foci of the main characters' motivations. [[spoiler: Both remain elusive to the end]].
81	* MadnessMantra: Jacob repeatedly shouts "I am my own man!" while Cutler forces him and Friend to dig.
82	* MaleFrontalNudity: The audience is treated to a view of Jacob's [[FanDisservice syphilitic, uncircumcised member]]. Later on, we are given a full view of Cutler urinating on Jacob and Friend.
83	* ManlyTears: Jacob breaks down in tears when [[spoiler: Friend dies after being shot by Cutler.]]
84	** Whitehead is frequently close to tears when he is frightened or distressed, particularly whenever he’s around O’Neil.
85	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It is never entirely clear which events are real, which are drug-induced hallucinations and which might be entirely supernatural.
86	* MindScrew: The film has many bizarre plot points that never get fully explained, such as O'Neil appearing when the others pull on a rope or the black planet that Whitehead sees coming at him several times. Then Whitehead eats the mushrooms, after which [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness it's unclear if what we're seeing is actually happening]].
87	* MinimalistCast: There's only 5 characters in this movie, one of whom dies barely 2 minutes in.
88	* MrViceGuy: Jacob loves his boozing and whoring. It's earned him a number of venereal diseases. Friend also says he cheated on his wife and burned his father-in-law's barn back home, but onscreen he's basically a straight up NiceGuy.
89	* MushroomSamba: When Whitehead eventually eats the mushrooms (in massive quantities), the viewer is treated to a nightmarish psychedelic experience. The film opens with an entirely serious strobe warning just for this scene.
90	* NiceGuy: Friend is TheEeyore and implied to be a MrViceGuy back home, but he befriends Jacob and Whitehead pretty quickly.
91	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Out of the main characters "Friend" is the only one whose real name isn't given.
92	* PreMortemOneLiner: [[spoiler:"The coward is here!", just before Whitehead kills O'Neil.]]
93	* PortalDoor: [[spoiler:Passing through the hedgerow that separates the Field from the battlefield is implied to be a transition between the real world and the strange place the Field is occupying.]]
94	* RuleOfThree: [[spoiler: Friend dies three times. The first is in the opening scene, when he drops dead after emerging from the hedgerow, the second is when Cutler shoots him in the chest, and the third is when O'Neil shoots him during his SelfDestructiveCharge]].
95	* ScareChord: A very loud one when [[spoiler: Cutler uncovers the treasure]].
96	* SceneryPorn: The fields around Guildford have never looked so good.
97	* ScreamingWarrior: [[spoiler: Friend during his HeroicSacrifice, though we can't hear it due to the SoundtrackDissonance]].
98	* SelfDestructiveCharge: [[spoiler: Friend dies for a second time attempting to charge O'Neil, who is armed with a pistol, using nothing more than his pike. Not a SenselessSacrifice, as it allows Whitehead to walk up and blow O'Neil's head off]].
99	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Whitehead's prose is rather elaborate compared to that of his companions. Lampshaded at least once, when Friend has a hard time understanding him.
100	* ShellShockSilence: Whitehead suffers this for a bit after a cannon ball explodes near him at the beginning.
101	* SirSwearsALot: Jacob's catchphrase is "fuck." The other characters don't swear.
102	* TheSmartGuy: Whitehead is the most educated member of the group, but is clearly out of his depth in a warzone.
103	* SoftSpokenSadist: O’Neil speaks rather calmly for most of the film.
104	* {{Tableau}}: Several scenes are introduced with the characters standing still in a tableau pose.
105	* TitleDrop: During a mushroom-induced delirium, Whitehead says that he plans to write a book called ''A Field in England or the Myriad Particulars of the Corn Weevil''.
106	* ToiletHumor: Some, most of it involving Jacob.
107	* TookALevelInBadass: Whitehead, after his MushroomSamba, [[spoiler:is able to muster the courage to kill O'Neil and fulfill his mission before apparently returning to the battlefield]]
108	* UnexplainedRecovery: [[spoiler:Friend seems to die on several occasions, but always comes back none the worse for wear. The final shot of the film also has Whitehead seeing Friend, Jacob and Cutler, all of whom should be dead, standing before him. This could be a hallucination however.]]
109	* TheUnsmile: Whitehead has a big, crazy grin after [[spoiler: O'Neil tortures him]].
110	* VillainousBreakdown: O'Neil loses his cool and gives in to homicidal rage after [[spoiler:Cutler tells him the hole contains no treasure, only bones... and ''then'' calls him a fool for believing Whitehead could've led him to an actual treasure]].
111	* VomitIndiscretionShot: The audience gets treated to a lovely view of Whitehead vomiting up the drink O’Neil forces down his throat and [[spoiler: rune stones.]]
112	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: A more villainous example of the trope. O’Neil is more confident of Whitehead’s magical abilities than Whitehead is.
113	* YouHaveFailedMe: O'Neil's first act after his VillainousBreakdown [[spoiler: is to shoot Cutler in the mouth with his pistol, both for his failure to find the treasure and for insulting O'Neil afterwards.]]
114	* YourHeadAsplode: The usual result of being shot in the face with a doglock pistol from point-blank range.

Context Film / AFieldInEngland