Based on the novel by Colin MacInnes, Absolute Beginners is the story of a young photographer who tries to deal with the changes in his life due to his girlfriend wanting to become a fashion designer while being lured by a businessman into a world that would cause trouble. Directed by Julien Temple and screenplay by Richard Burridge, Christopher Wicking, Don MacPherson, and additional dialogue by Terry Johnson, the film is a musical set in late 1950s London in its Soho district where young people deal with a changing world. Starring Eddie O’Connell, Patsy Kensit, James Fox, Anita Morris, Bruce Payne, Graham Fletcher-Clark, Sade Adu, Ray Davies, and David Bowie as Vendice Partners. Absolute Beginners is a dazzling yet flawed film from Julien Temple.
Set in the summer of 1958 in the Soho district of London during a youth boom, the film revolves around a photographer trying to live his life and impress his girlfriend only to lose her when she becomes a hit at a fashion show and be engaged to an aging fashion designer. In turn, he gets lured by an exploitive adman for his photographs where he becomes blind to what is happening in the streets of London as racial tension starts to occur from White Supremacists. It’s a film that is a young man trying to define himself as a photographer while hanging out with his friends and listen to jazz yet is unsure of what he has to do to impress his girlfriend who would unfortunately be part of a world that she would eventually not like.
The film’s script doesn’t just play into the world of the youth culture in the late 1950s but also into the conflict that its protagonist Colin (Eddie O’Connell) endures in trying to impress his girlfriend Suzette (Patsy Kensit) who wants to be a fashion designer. The film also has these characters who are willing to exploit the youth culture such as the fashion designer Henley of Mayfair (James Fox) and an adman in Vendice Partners. The latter of which is this eccentric yet charming man with a transatlantic accent who could convince anyone to sell out. The film’s third act becomes serious and changes its tone from being this whimsical and playful musical into a film about racial tension. While the first two acts would hint and reveal events slowly that would cause the tension, how it gets unveiled is clunky where it definitely feels like an entirely different film.
Julien Temple’s direction is definitely stylish in terms of the world he creates where it is largely shot at a studio to recreate the world of the Soho and neighborhoods in London. Featuring an intricate yet stylish tracking shot that goes on for several minutes early in the film, it does capture a lot of what was happening in Soho as Temple’s usage of wide and medium shots capture that vibrancy. Especially in the clubs where there is a lot of dancing as it was choreographed by David Toguri as well as moments where the dancing occurs in other sequences including the riots which is one of the odd moments in the film that doesn’t feel right. The scenes relating to the race riots, as it’s based on the real-life Notting Hills race riots of 1958, feels like it’s a different film where despite carrying similar visuals and compositions. It’s third act is quite problematic as it is clear Temple wasn’t sure what kind of film he wants to make but also is having trouble going back to just being an upbeat and lively musical despite its ending. Overall, Temple creates a messy yet enjoyable film about a young photographer trying to impress his girlfriend in late 1950s London.
Cinematographer Oliver Stapleton does excellent work with the film‘s very colorful cinematography in the way Soho was shot for the scenes set at night as well as its nightclubs along with the more lavish and brightened lights of people in London‘s high society. Editors Richard Bedford, Michael Bradsell, Gerry Hambling, and Russell Lloyd do nice work with the editing as it‘s very stylish in the jump-cuts, transitions, and other cuts to play into the energy of the film. Production designer John Beard, with art directors Stuart Rose and Ken Wheatley, does amazing work with the set design from the look of the clubs and posh homes to some of the musical numbers including the sequence where Partners wins over Colin by song.
Costume designers Sue Blane and David Perry do fantastic work with the costumes from the clothes that Henley creates to some of the suits of the men as well as the dresses that the women wear. Sound mixer David John does terrific work with the sound as it plays into the atmosphere of the clubs and parties that the characters venture into. The film’s music score by Gil Evans is wonderful for its mixture of jazz and early rock n‘ roll to play into that world of late 1950s Britain as the soundtrack itself would feature original songs sung by Ray Davies of the Kinks, the Style Council, Sade, Slim Gaillard, Tenpole Tudor, Smiley Culture, and three songs by David Bowie including its title track and a cover of Volare.
The casting by Leonara Davis, Susie Figgis, and Mary Selway is incredible as it features cameos from Robbie Coltrane as a shopkeeper, Sandie Shaw as a mother of a teen idol, Bruno Tonioli as a lodger at the home of Colin’s parents, Slim Gaillard as a singer at a posh party, and Smiley Culture as the reggae singer at the end of the film. Other notable small roles include Carmen Ejogo as Cool’s young sister Carmen, Julian Firth as the Misery Kid, Paul Rhys as the mod Dean, Joseph McKenna as Colin’s gay friend Hoplite, Chris Pitt as the young teen idol Baby Boom, and Sade Adu as the nightclub singer Athene Duncannon. Performances from Steven Berkoff as a supremacist leader, Edward Tudor-Pole as the Teddy boys leader Ed the Ted, and Bruce Payne as the supremacist enforcer Flikker are superb in their antagonistic roles while Alan Freeman as the talk show host Call-Me-Cobber and Lionel Blair as the pop impresario Harry Charms are fantastic as the men who would exploit the youth movement.
Eve Ferret and Tony Hippolyte are excellent as Colin’s friends in the flamboyant lesbian Big Jill and the jazz-trumpeter Cool, respectively, who deal with the chaos of their world. Graham Fletcher-Cook is terrific as Colin’s ambitious friend Wizard who is very cynical about everything as he does whatever he can to make money and align with anyone with power. Ray Davies and Mandy Rice-Davies are amazing as Colin’s parents with Ray as the neglected and melancholic father who wants a quiet life and Mandy as the mother who is very cruel to her husband. Edward Fox is brilliant as the snobbish Henley as this fashion designer who marries Suzette to help his business only to take her for selfish reasons. Anita Morris is wonderful as the gossip columnist Dido Lament as this woman who would exploit both Suzette and Colin but also would play a key part in helping the latter in its third act.
Eddie O’Connell is terrific as Colin as a young photographer that is trying to live his life to the fullest as well as dealing with the need to sell out in order to impress his girlfriend. Patsy Kensit is radiant as Suzette as a young woman that wants to make it in the fashion world only to realize what she had to do forcing her to make compromises that she doesn’t want. Finally, there’s David Bowie in a small yet spectacular performance as Vendice Partners as this adman with a transatlantic accent that is about selling dreams as he would convince Colin the way to succeed is to sell out as a form of motivation.
Absolute Beginners is a stellar yet messy film from Julien Temple. While it features a great cast and a phenomenal soundtrack, it’s a film that wants to be a lot of things but loses sight in its third act. In the end, Absolute Beginners is a terrific film from Julien Temple.
© thevoid99 2016
Directed by Julien Temple and screenplay by Terry Johnson from a story by David Bowie, Jazzin’ for Blue Jean is a twenty-minute short film that serves as a promotional video for David Bowie’s single Blue Jean from his much-maligned 1984 album Tonight. The short revolves around a socially-awkward man trying to woo a beautiful young woman by taking her to an exclusive concert as Bowie plays both the socially-awkward man Vic and the singer Screamin’ Lord Byron. Also starring Louise Scott as the young woman. Jazzin’ for Blue Jean is a witty and whimsical short from Julien Temple and David Bowie.
The film is essentially a comedy where this man tries to impress this young woman into taking her to a concert for this pop singer where everything goes wrong. He tries everything from claiming he’s on a list to bad negotiating for tickets where he would eventually meet the singer Screamin’ Lord Byron through an accidental moment in the hopes of winning over this young woman. It’s a short that is very witty which plays into the silliness of 1980s culture from Vic trying to find ways to dress cool only to get advice from his much clean and more fashionable roommate. The script is largely told from Vic’s perspective as someone who is so desperate to be cool but he is such a dork.
Julien Temple’s direction is quite stylish from the usage of crane shots to capture the streets of London as well as how the club looks in a way superstars have to be presented. There are also moments where Temple makes fun of the idea of stardom in the way Screamin’ Lord Byron arrives as if he had partied too much and is quite full of himself. It adds to the ridiculousness of the story where Temple also create some scenes which play into the false worship of pop idols including Bowie himself who music for the film including the song he performs. Temple’s direction also has a unique way some of the comedy is set up as it is done naturally which showcases Bowie’s knack for comedy.
With Louise Scott providing a wonderful performance as the dream girl, it is Bowie’s show as his approach to playing a dork is so fun while his performance as Screamin’ Lord Byron is just as funny for how much of a diva he is. It is Bowie not being afraid to lampoon himself a bit but also make some commentary about 1980s commercialized-pop music which he had been sucked into in the aftermath of the blockbuster success of his 1983 album Let’s Dance.
Jazzin’ for Blue Jean is a fantastic short film from Julien Temple and David Bowie. It’s a short that fans of Bowie will consider as essential despite the fact that it was made in one of his un-creative periods. It’s a film that isn’t just entertaining but also provides as a great tool to promote new music as it’s just Bowie selling himself. In the end, Jazzin’ for Blue Jean is an excellent short film from Julien Temple.
© thevoid99 2016
Directed by Julien Temple, The Filth & the Fury is the story about the rise and fall of one of Britain’s greatest bands in the Sex Pistols as it is told from the perspective of its surviving members. The film serves as a counterpoint of the band’s story as it had been previously told in Temple’s 1980 film The Great Rock N’ Roll Swindle from the perspective of the band’s manager Malcolm McLaren. Especially as the film features some rare archival footage as well as the complete interview on the Bill Grundy show that gained them notoriety and an old interview with the band’s late bassist Sid Vicious. The result is one of most poignant and enthralling documentaries about one of the greatest bands in the world of punk rock.
From their formation in 1975 at a clothing store run by Malcolm McLaren to the band’s break-up at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco in 1978, the brief career of the Sex Pistols remains one of the most enduring stories in the history of rock n’ roll. While there were accusations that the band was essentially a manufactured band run by McLaren who had called them his greatest creation. The documentary gives the band the chance to finally tell their stories as vocalist John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and original bassist Glen Matlock are interviewed in the film as they’re presented in silhouette to conceal their old age. Another member that is interviewed is Matlock’s replacement Sid Vicious from a 1978 rare interview he gave some months before his death in 1979. McLaren is also featured in the film but through audio excerpts he gave from The Great Rock N’ Roll Swindle as the film is featured prominently with much of its animated footage.
The film isn’t just about the rise and fall of the Pistols but also the chance to reveal where the members had come from as well as what was happening to Great Britain during the 1970s. It was a time of social and political disarray where there were a lot of protests, racial tension, and strikes to the point that garbage was all over the streets of Britain. The Sex Pistols were a product of that sense of disarray as they came in at a time when popular music in Britain was becoming increasingly disconnected with what was happening as pop music gotten very silly and progressive rock had become extremely self-indulgent as the music was being seen as very upper class. Lydon, Jones, Cook, and Matlock all talk about their own dissatisfaction with the music scene though they came from a generation where glam rock was big in the early 70s as Jones was a fan of David Bowie and Roxy Music while Lydon adored American shock rocker Alice Cooper.
With the help of editor Niven Howie and sound editor Paul Davies, Julien Temple scour through many hours of footage that includes some old clips of British comedies of the 1970s as well as some rare footage of news and commercials from those times plus clips of Laurence Olivier’s adaptation of Richard III. Notably as Lydon is someone who is an aficionado of Shakespeare as the footage would play exactly into the band’s own self-destructive ending. The film also features a lot of anecdotes about the band’s rise as well as Matlock’s departure where it was revealed that McLaren was the one who really created the split even though Lydon and Matlock had some issues with each other. Still, Lydon did respect Matlock for teaching Jones and Cook in how to play as he also regretted in how Matlock’s departure was handled by McLaren. Through Vicious’ archival interview, he talks about his own love for the and how he wanted to improve musically despite the fact that he couldn’t really play bass.
The one thing that McLaren and the surviving members of the Pistols definitely agreed on was Nancy Spungen who is also featured in the film through archival footage as she had become Vicious’ girlfriend and introduced him to heroin. Lydon revealed that he was the one who introduced Spungen to Vicious which he regretted and also was very despondent about Vicious’ death. The film doesn’t just feature the band’s infamous appearance at the Bill Grundy show where Steve Jones and John Lydon said a lot of profanity on the show. The film also features some rare live footage including a benefit concert the band did for the children of firemen who were on strike and the cultural impact the band made despite the fact that they made very little money during that time. The film would end with the band’s final concert in 1978 at the Winterland Ballroom where Jones and Cook both expressed their regret over how the band split up and their affiliation with McLaren.
The Filth & the Fury is an outstanding film from Julien Temple about the brief but influential career of the Sex Pistols. The film is definitely one of the most definitive documentaries about any rock band as it does stray from convention while only needing to tell about everything the band did from 1975 through 1978 even though they only released one album in their entire career. Especially as it showcases everything that the band wasn’t despite Malcolm McLaren’s claims which only showcased how full of shit he was. In the end, The Filth & the Fury is a phenomenal film from Julien Temple.
© thevoid99 2014
