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.
Review of Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
