Well I was a 70s teenager and no Punk rock fan but I certainly enjoyed this film almost to its conclusion despite its many shortcomings. I was aware that it was on the shortlist for Oscar nomination but didn't quite make it, I wanted to know what all the fuss was about.
Ian dury was a popular musician in the 1970s but I would hardly call this film a tribute to him. In many ways it is a very sad film because through Andy Serkis, we can get an idea of the musical potential which Dury possessed and that which was surely wasted.
There were many poignant sensitive moments and I really liked the opening sequences; not sure if all the songs in the movie are originally from Dury and his Group and the era? Then suddenly the film began to fall away and the ending was somewhat desperate. As others have commented, there was a lack of cohesion and so maximum 6 for this movie because of that alone.
Not in the same league as Ray, Walk the Line or even This is It and some even wonder who Ian Dury was; a Shakespearean Punk legend with a fabulous use of the English language, alas, mostly put to waste.
One strong message the film gives is in the father-son relationship. Dury clearly loved his Son very much but was lost in his own musical world of what the film title dictated, though there was no sex in this movie and I would not suspect Mr Dury to have been a playboy by the nature of the character acted out by Serkis. Furthermore, we are surely talking about Punk Rock, not rock n Roll, though I know it derives from the title of the song.
I may be wrong here but didn't he also write 'Hit me with your Rhythm Stick'/ I thought that might have been evolved when Mr Dury was in the group meeting with the 'kids' and they started to work on a new song with 'rhythm'.
There are many harsh and uncomfortable moments in the movie but don't be put off and you don't have to be a 70s teenager to enjoy it. All the songs used in the movie are lyrical and worth absorbing in the context of the movie but if it intended to tell the mans life story (such as it was), I am sorry but for me it failed.
Ian dury was a popular musician in the 1970s but I would hardly call this film a tribute to him. In many ways it is a very sad film because through Andy Serkis, we can get an idea of the musical potential which Dury possessed and that which was surely wasted.
There were many poignant sensitive moments and I really liked the opening sequences; not sure if all the songs in the movie are originally from Dury and his Group and the era? Then suddenly the film began to fall away and the ending was somewhat desperate. As others have commented, there was a lack of cohesion and so maximum 6 for this movie because of that alone.
Not in the same league as Ray, Walk the Line or even This is It and some even wonder who Ian Dury was; a Shakespearean Punk legend with a fabulous use of the English language, alas, mostly put to waste.
One strong message the film gives is in the father-son relationship. Dury clearly loved his Son very much but was lost in his own musical world of what the film title dictated, though there was no sex in this movie and I would not suspect Mr Dury to have been a playboy by the nature of the character acted out by Serkis. Furthermore, we are surely talking about Punk Rock, not rock n Roll, though I know it derives from the title of the song.
I may be wrong here but didn't he also write 'Hit me with your Rhythm Stick'/ I thought that might have been evolved when Mr Dury was in the group meeting with the 'kids' and they started to work on a new song with 'rhythm'.
There are many harsh and uncomfortable moments in the movie but don't be put off and you don't have to be a 70s teenager to enjoy it. All the songs used in the movie are lyrical and worth absorbing in the context of the movie but if it intended to tell the mans life story (such as it was), I am sorry but for me it failed.