Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

source: Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Hands down this has to be one of the worst pseudo-documentaries I have ever seen. First of all it's that crappy shaky cam that give you epilepsy. Secondly, it's all over the place. So disappointing.

A fine lead performance by Andy Serkis who played Gollum, King Kong and, er Moors Murderer Ian Brady. I suppose what with him playing real people - or at least established characters - he's following a similar career path to Blair/Frost/Clough actor Michael Sheen. (While Serkis doing Blair would be a stretch, I could see Sheen playing the anaemic po-faced Brady.) Serkis seems to BE Dury though he doesn't look that much like him; Dury looked like a malformed Kray twin and Ray Winstone (who pops up as Dury's dad) in his younger days would be more a physical match. Talking of which, Jamie Winstone appears before the film starts doing her schoolmarm bit, telling us to watch out for anyone videoing the movie. "There's always one who's got to spoil it isn't there..." The movie is good stuff and I liked the dialogue, though much of it may be bon mots from the man himself rather than from the scriptwriter. It's mainly The Life and Death of Peter Sellers type stuff, in that we have a guy over 30 held back by perceived physical limitations and prejudice who makes it big at the expense of his family life. That said, the genre is a bit box-ticking in its emotions, it's all emotional shorthand. Everything is deliberately simplified, prettified and made a bit phony. When we see the band practising at home, and Dury sacks the drummer while his wife is giving birth upstairs, well, that's based on a real event, except here it looks phony, comical. And it's a bit like that throughout: here's the girlfriend looking moody, here's the kid petulantly burning his dad's presents, etc. It lacks verisimilitude, or that seedy, downbeat 1970s punk vibe. The audience is spoonfed and every scene is a stepping stone. It also has to overlook the fact that unlike Gene Vincent, Dury did not die young, say in 1980, but 20 years later, not in a ripe old age admittedly but with enough time to conjure with. Still, enjoyable throughout and artist Peter Blake's titles are very good. Blake was Dury's tutor don't you know.

Ian Dury was an unlikely pop star: a survivor of childhood polio, a clever lyricist (though hardly poetical) who was hardly a singer, who made his own form of rock-and-roll, with punk attitude, funky rhythm but also a dash of the English music hall. That said, biopics tend to be boring and formulaic, and it's to the credit of director Mat Whitecross that he tries to avoid the clichéd overcome-troubles-through-talent narrative. Unfortunately, the result is that it often feels there's barely any narrative at all, rather everything is mixed-up together and the sheer improbability of Dury's sudden ascent to fame with his first number one record at the age of 37 is missed. Also, while I have no reason to doubt the portrayal of Dury as a man with a temper, one thing I missed in Andy Serkis' performance was Dury's pervasive and paradoxical sense of cool.

Back in 1977 while punk was just getting going, a band called Ian Dury and the Blockheads released an album called 'New Boots and Panties'. A few years later, feeling a bit nostalgic, I bought said album really cheap. I still have it today; in fact I'm listening to it as I type this review. Now, onto the film, it's a biopic all about Ian Dury, his fight against disability and his rise to fame. Here's a brief summary before I tell you my thoughts (summary haters please mingle with the audience while I write the next paragraph). Ian Dury was an entertainer, or that's what he always said he was interviewed. He had been struck down with polio when he was young and this left him withered down his left side. When we first see him, he is with another band who are rehearsing downstairs while his wife, Betty, gives birth upstairs. Later, after their last gig, he meets Denise Roudette, with whom he has an affair. They move in together and a while later, his son, Baxter, comes to stay with them. As Ian puts a new band together, including musician and songwriter Chaz Jankel, Baxter struggles to come to terms with the chaotic lifestyle he has been thrown into. The film plots his rise to fame and the effect it has on Ian and those around him. It also tells of his early life in flashback, his relationship with his father, Bill, and his unhappy childhood in an institution. I won't say any more as I don't want to give too much away. Made in a very theatrical style, this film cuts from live action to animation, to live musical performances and back again. It all sounds a bit chaotic, but, for me at least, it works. At the centre is a really great performance from Andy Serkis as Ian Dury, although he doesn't particularly look like him, he has all his mannerisms down to a tee. I also thought Bill Milner played the part of Baxter Dury very well, it can't have been an easy part for a young actor and I thought he coped with it pretty well. Similarly, Wesley Nelson played the part of Young Ian Dury very well. I should also give honourable mentions to Olivia Williams as Ian's wife, Naomie Harris as Denise Roudette, Tom Hughes as Chaz Jankel, and nice cameos from both Ray Winstone as Bill Dury (Ian's dad) and Noel Clarke as Desmond. Although Ian Dury wasn't the easiest person to get along with (for those that don't know, he passed away in 2000) and consequently not the nicest man in the world, I found this quite an enjoyable film to watch. I can't say I'm a huge fan of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, but I do recognise that Ian was a very talented chap and I always respected him as an artiste. Later in his career he appeared in quite a few films, not a bad actor. Over all, it's quite an interesting film, very touching at times but also quite bold in its approach. I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but still… recommended. My score: 7.1/10

Ignoring the fact that Dury was a teacher for a while, the film flits from has rise to fame, to his challenging upbringing. It's not like any bio-pic i've seen in recent years, it has a little Todd Haynes-esquire scenes in the film, and the concert footage is really something else. But it doesn't glamorise the fact that Dury was a star, it doesn't really delve into his money or the music he made, it focuses on the the struggles Dury had with his illness, and trying to bring his son up. It's very interesting to see that the film-makers don't show Dury as a hero, they show him as a vulnerable child-like man, who cannot cope with the real world. Someone who wants to live life to the full because he probably feels his childhood was lost, so he makes up for it, and tries to get his son to have fun too. A lot of issues are not elaborated on, which is a shame. The bullying of his son is never fully established, we just get a little revenge in the woods, and thats that, and there is also a scene where Dury is doing a Q&A at the school he attended, and a boy challenges hims about God, there is something there, but the makers ignore it. But these are just minor flaws in an otherwise interesting film. Serkis is uncannily like Dury, and he is absolutely fantastic as the singer, showing rage and passion. The rest of the cast are also good, but this is Serkis' movie, and he commands every scene he is in. It's a very dark movie, sometimes psychedelic, sometimes disturbing, but the narrative flows well and for fans of the music and the man, it's a must.

I had seen clips of this British film on Film 2010 with Jonathan Ross, and it looked highly interesting to see the actor who was Gollum take on a really good role like this. Basically Ian Dury (BAFTA nominated Andy Serkis) was born with polio, an infectious disease based disability causing problems for the spinal cord. This film shows his journey towards stardom as a punk rocker of the 1970's, with his alternative and ingenious approach to singing with great lyrics. It sees his leaving wife Betty (The Ghost's Olivia Williams) and going from place to place with son Baxter (Bill Milner), and his meeting of new love interest Denise Roudette (Naomie Harris). Ian Dury with his band The Blockheads started out in low key gigs, before eventually going for the guns with a recording studio and as we see in many cutaways from the story, a live concert. Through the film we see his struggling through childhood with his disability, his time with his father Bill (Ray Winstone), and the relationships of those who spent time with him musically and socially. Also starring Tom Hughes as Chaz Jankel, James Jagger as John Turnbull, The Office's Mackenzie Crook as Russell Hardy and Noel Clarke as Desmond. Serkis is brilliant as Dury, with his deep voice, costumes and make-up, his prominent drinking and smoking habit, and of course his on the money performances with songs like "Billericay Dickie", "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick", "Spasticus Autisticus" and the title song. If it wasn't for the fantastic performance by Serkis I don't think this film would be worth seeing, so thank goodness they chose him, it is a colourful, musical and really likable biographical drama. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Music for Chaz Jankel. Good!

Blows the typical Hollywood bio-pics (RAY, WALK THE LINE, etc. etc.) right out of the water. A career-defining performance from Andy Serkis...his BAFTA nomination was more than well-deserved. He literally inhabits this physically and emotionally demanding role. The film does not sugar-coat the fact the Dury was a hard man to be around. Superbly edited as well, combining graphics, animation, varying film-stocks and angles, B&W, flashbacks, and fantasy sequences (ever see a band perform UNDER water?). While this might sound like a mish-mash, it certainly reflects those same artistic elements and chaos of the times. Yet the movie never loses it's narrative thru-line. A must-see, even more so for those who remember.

In one scene Olivia Williams (as Dury's wife) throws plates at Andy Serkis(Dury) in a domestic argument - typically of this film it seemed stilted and unreal. That said Andy Serkis is terrific as Dury, as I expected. Naomi Harris is hot and a damned good actress to boot. The style of the film rather gets in the way of a coherent narrative and is ultimately unsatisfying. The Blockhead's music is always worth hearing and I would have liked more band performance on screen as that is what made Dury great. It is to the movie's credit that Ian Dury is seen warts and all, like most rock stars he was a complex and difficult man at the best of times. This film was not quite what I expected it to be and therefore overall I was disappointed in the final result.

This film tells the story of a young boy who suffers from polio, and becomes mildly disabled. He does not let this aspect of himself get in the way of his success, and he becomes one of the most influential musician in the British punk rock scene. The story revolves mainly about the grown up Ian Dury, who seems to spend a lot of time on sex and drugs. He behaves erratically at times, but it seems that the consequences of his actions are not much touched upon. I may have missed what happened after he trashes the studio, but there seems to be no consequences after being taken away by the police. I have to say the story does not connect with me at all. I don't find the characters sympathetic or likable, and I do not care about any of them. I find this film boring and less than engaging.