What more can you want from life? It is, after all, all your brain and body need. Ian Dury's iconic debut single for Stiff Records is the title of this biopic of the disabled singer who stormed the charts along with his superb backing band The Blockheads some (whisper it) thirty years ago.Andy Serkis continues to build on his reputation with an excellent performance as the unlikely star who was disabled as a result of a polio attach at the age of seven. Truly gifted, manipulative and often lacking in self-confidence (despite all appearances to the contrary) Dury could be a complete and utter bastard to friends, family and anyone else who caught him at the wrong moment but who was nevertheless loved by all of them in equal measure.
Massively charismatic whilst, seemingly paradoxically, not wanting to be seen as a second class citizen as a result of his disability whilst using that self-same disability as a means to get his own way Dury's legacy has stood the test of time albeit this is based largely on a couple of singles with perhaps New Boots And Panties being his only truly satisfying album.
This film is less about the music and more about the man. Based largely in the period between the latter days of Kilburn And The High Roads and the return of Chaz Jankel (which makes it 1981 and the Lord Upminster album), it depicts Dury's rise to stardom and his fall from grace which was largely self-inflicted by his conflicted desire for fame and his bad reaction to achieving it. There are flashbacks to his earlier life bringing into play the influence of his father (played by Ray Winstone and as mythologised in the song "My Old Man") and his time in an institutions with other children with polio. Both had a significant impact on Dury the adult although he was largely brought up by his mother and two sisters in a loving environment.
The film does well to depict the complexities that made up this man including his manipulative relationships with the women in his life. The centrepiece of the movie focuses around his relationship with his son Baxter who is famously depicted on the cover of New Boots And Panties alongside his father.
Although there are a number of strong performances from the rest of the cast, the movie undoubtedly belongs to Andy Serkis. It's not very long into the movie before you fully believe that it is the late singer that you are watching on screen. He also does all of the singing backed by The Blockheads and does an equally remarkable job.For those of you who liked or loved Ian Dury this is a film you will want to see. For the rest of you, I can only say that my wife couldn't stand Ian Dury but was impressed by Serkis' performance in the trailer and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I think that's what you call high praise indeed!
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1 comment:
I'd say it's a fine film, but for ...well, the music! Trying to remake such rude, anarchistic marvels is a fool's errand, and they try to do just that.
Better, I'd say, to lip-synch the originals, or intersperse live concert footage within the film.
Mind you, that might well mar the effort in other ways. Such as this film's interpersonal strengths -- his touching relations with father and son, his ineptitude with gals -- but it's the music wot Ian's all about, innit?
The acting is good all around. Would it be trite to add that Olivia Williams could have been better used? A dreamy beaut, she can also act. Winstone's not mined fully either: there's a massive talent.
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