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Reviews
Bolan's Shoes (2023)
An emotionally engaging story
An emotional story exploring loss, mental illness, identity and a common love of the music of T-rex. Ian Puleston-Davies' story reveals the journey of adult Penny, her life affected by a tragedy that occurs on the journey home from a T-rex concert in 70s Liverpool.
The children from a home run by a vicar meet the band and Marc Bolan backstage before their fateful coach trip home. Jimmy is bullied into setting a fire on his seat, causing the driver to be distracted, crashing the bus, resulting in the death of a child and the driver. Jimmy's resulting head trauma and guilt over the incident affects his mental state and his sister as they navigate the institution and it's vagaries. Jimmy gets separated from his sister after an altercation with another child. He never sees her again, till a chance encounter when they are adults.
Ian's story reveals the adult Penny's life, bound by her love of T-rex and Marc Bolan. Fans may be disappointed that this is not a tribute story and indeed it is not. What binds and weaves the story together is the common love of the characters and their association and love of music. The eponymous shoes are an anchor in the story. The layers are revealed, Penny, her identity, her motivation, the separation from Jimmy and eventual discovery of her long brother, lost in the care system.
A well crafted story and well, very emotionally engaging. I have tried not to spoil it by being vague about the real meat of the story. Loss, love, identity, mental health, redemption, forgiveness, all beautifully explored.
An excellent cast in Timothy Spall and Leanne Best adding to the kids who all did a great job, so moving, so compelling, so engaging. Thanks to you all. I came badly prepared, I had no tissues, only my sleeve. It does have a happy ending and we get to see those shoes again.