Quadrophenia

I love this movie. Hell, I'd marry it if I could. It's my favorite rock movie with some British actors, who I really like, where in their younger acting years, they really impress, in a movie that can only be described as a faultless rock musical, masterpiece. Jimmy (Daniels) is a sixties rebel, who's so frustrated with his place in life. He has a courier job, is taking flack from his parents, that results in arguments, and he wants the girl his mate's doin'. We can relate with this character so well, us loners, where Jimmy's got a lot of bad energy, and it's going in the wrong places. Near the end of the film, he becomes such a desperate and pathetic mess, finally driving him to steal Sting's flashy scooter and total it off a cliff. Watch all the anger that pours out of Jimmy when he crashes his bike with a truck. But this is what Jimmy is, a very angry driven teen, and Daniels (one of my favorite British actors, and a bloody underrated one at that) plays him to a tee. I was thankful too, for the time a young Ray Winstone had in this, an old friend of Jimmy's who's popped back in town, and has decided to become a punk rocker, much to other people's disapproval, including Daniels. Two other actors from Scum have brief roles in this too. I loved the scene with Winstone, explaining and defending himself to Daniels in his backyard, a seasoned professional. The film, heavy on rock, is just one music pounding experience with a lot of bad language, where there are a couple of frighteningly violent moments. There's a foreboding of what crazy s..t, our unstable Daniels is gonna do next, but it's him, who sells this film. One notable feature is Sting's haircut. He's another rebel here with his own posse. Quadrophenia just managed to entertain me all the way through. It doesn't have fancy shots, though the long shots of a bleak Brighton were memorable, I felt so cold watching this town. It doesn't have fancy color, and the dialogue, isn't t the best I've heard. What it does have are engaging performances, amongst 60's culture, the environment, and it's conditions. With Daniels taking us through the story, it's one cool ride, and a cult rocker classic.

Quadrophenia is about British Mods from the 1965 era and the struggles of young adults, which could be from any era. Mods were a subculture of youths that wore tailored suits, road scooters and popped pills. They liked bands like The Who, The Kinks and The Yardbirds. Mods also listened to some 1960s ska music, soul and R&B. If you like this sort of music, the movie has a good soundtrack attached to it.

The main character in the film is Jimmy (Phil Daniels) he doesn't have a long term plan for his life or the future, his life is all about next weekend. Jimmy is a Mod and frustrated with his boring life, working as an office boy and living at home with his parents. The only time he feels alive is with his Mod friends, who aimlessly drink, fight and party their weekends away. The Mods enemies are the Rockers who they physically clash with at times.

The highlight of the Mods calendar is a big dance coming up at Brighton. Jimmy and his Mod friends go to a big dance at Brighton with much anticipation. Its the absolute high point of Jimmy's life. He see's the top Mod (Sting) at the dance, who seems to be everything a Mod should aspire to be. However things aren't what they seem, and Jimmy learns the top Mod is just another young man with his struggles. Jimmy finds a fleeting love but the outcome is far from what he desires.

With his boring life and let downs, Jimmy becomes even more frustrated and reckless. Its a sad film to see how young people can get so caught up in the moment and let little things burn them up, that would mean nothing in 5 years time. Phil Daniels is really good as Jimmy, the support cast and settings are good as well.

One of the main criticisms at the time "Quadrophenia" came out was that it was noisy and violent rubbish. Quite how this opinion was ever formed is puzzling because the film I saw was a brilliant realistic portrayal of a mod in the 60's. The film has directorial flair, an excellent soundtrack and some underrated scripting and performances. It perfectly captures the angst and disillusionment of its protaganist to a level that has never been seen on film before or since.

Quadrophenia (1979)

*** (out of 4)

The Who's 1973 rock opera was turned into a feature film and centers on Jimmy (Phil Daniels), a teenager in the U.K. who deals with a wide range of issues but most of them surrounding growing up in the era. QUADROPHENIA, the album, is considered one of the band's greatest as well as one of the greatest ever made. I never was a big fan of the film TOMMY but I found this one here to be much better overall. I think the greatest thing going for this film is the soundtrack, which not only includes The Who songs from this album but we also get some of their older material (a memorable bit on My Generation) as well as songs from other artists. This soundtracks is certainly something terrific and The Who songs are put to good use here. Another thing working well is the performance of Daniels who perfectly nails this troubled character. I thought he was extremely believable from the start to the finish as he perfectly nailed the various emotions that this teenager is going through. I thought he was especially good towards the end once the guy starts to finally have a breakdown. Leslie Ash is also very cute and charming in her supporting bit. Director Franc Roddam doesn't add too much style to the picture but I found this to be a good thing. What the director does a great job with is the rawness of the picture. It almost feels as if you're watching a documentary on a real group of people because the look and feel of the picture are so on the mark.

I'm not from Brighton or London but understand a little about the culture. This is an honest and necessarily messy film of a specific place and time. Overall a good film and worth watching. Cool to see Sting in it if unaware (like I was) of his role. Kind of odd ending since it's obvious what happened and... not?