N-Philes

MOVIE REVIEW – Pirate Radio

Posted November 16th 2009 by Frankie Aguilar.

Music has always had a big role in film. As music styles changed and new genres emerged, music's role in movies has fluctuated. In the past there have been films dedicated to bands or musical artists, or an era defined by music, but more often than not those movies tend to be character-driven and music takes a back seat. Pirate Radio lifts Rock n' Roll music to a place along side the rest of it's characters, and the result is, at times, fantastic.

The plot of this movie borrows a little from real British broadcasting history. In the 1960s the BBC sought to limit the amount of Pop and Rock music played in Britain. These strict broadcasting rules forced a few seaworthy music lovers to take their music outside the range of British laws and beam it back to the music craved masses. These Rock/Pop playing "pirates" are the character focus in this film, but no one character can claim the lead role. The movie introduces us to the crew by way of Carl (Tom Sturridge), the godson of the Rock Boat's proprietor Quentin (Bill Nighy). Carl is vehicle by which the audience is acclimated to the lifestyle that the crew leads, coming in as an 18 year-old virgin to a boat filled with older, sex craved rock n' rollers that booze and use when not broadcasting.

The bigger personalities in the movie are also the biggest personalities broadcasting from the rock boat. Philip Seymour Hoffman turns in another fantastic outing as "The Count", an American rock DJ that seems to live and breath Rock n' Roll. His overwhelming love for music oozes from his character and that exuberance might make a few music lovers break into song in the theaters. Cursing profusely in almost every sentence and challenging the other DJs to tests of resolve are just part of The Count's everyday life. Playing a smooth foil to The Count's zealousness is the charismatic, overtly sexual Dr. Dave played by Nick Frost. The best way to describe Dr. Dave is "big... and very beautiful." Dr. Dave is the type of man that hits on every woman, regardless of if she's married, or even with another man at the time, and truly believes he has a chance with everyone of them.

The governmental tight wads that inhabit the villains in Pirate Radio are Kenneth Branagh as Minister Dormandy, and Jack Davenport as civil servant Twatt. Their reserved indignation is a source of fantastic dry comedy throughout the film. The fact that every menacing order decreed by Branagh to Davenport ends with "Twatt" is giggle worthy at least. A few other notable characters are Tom Brooke as 'Thick' Kevin, Carl's roommate, and Chris O'Dowd as DJ Simon Swafford, both of whom help Carl adjust to life on the boat through their own quirks. Katherine Parkinson plays Felicity, the lesbian cook and only women allowed on board, and Will Adamsdale plays newsreader John, a straight laced man in a den of debauchery.

The cast, save for Hoffman, is broadly British, and so the comedy style follows suit. The movie switches back and forth between what goes on on the Rock Boat, and in the governmental buildings of London. The juxtaposition of the dry, unintentionally comedic exchanges between Dormandy and Twatt, and the raunchy sketch style comedy portrayed by the various radio personalities of the boat make for a great mixture over the entirety of the film. These contrasting comedic styles however don't do much to solidify the story.

Much in the way the Carl is our link to the world of Pirate Radio, his storyline is the only thing that reminds us that there is a plot to this film. His journey into what the rest of the boats inhabitants consider adulthood moves the story along, but more as an afterthought. When I say that this movie is first and foremost about the music, I mean that the story takes a back seat not only to music, as well as the characters. This musical devotion does make for fantastic scenes. Mixed into the movie are short scenes of the British populace listening to the outlawed radio in secrecy. From school girls in their dormitories, to the secretary of Minister Dormandy himself, the all encompassing power of rock is truly evident. All the characters, big and small, seem genuinely in love with their illegal radio. Nevertheless for stretches in the movie, some characters, even the few you'd consider the main characters, just disappear.

It seems unfair to judge a movie whose subject matter is mainly music, without judging to music itself, and unfortunately this is where the film might lose some people's interest. The genre is almost exclusively '60s Britrock, with the Beach Boys and Jimi Hendrix making musical cameos. While not necessarily being a fan of the British invasion bands myself, I did enjoy the soundtrack as a whole. But because of how huge a part music is in Pirate Radio, if you don't enjoy this music, you'll find it hard to feel and understand the emotions the characters are feeling. The anti-establishment message tethered not only to the motif of this movie but the songs that litter it, may fall to the wayside if you're waiting for songs to be over.

Even when this movie is struggling to remember that it does indeed have a plot, it's never boring. This film doesn't become full of itself with a message, and doesn't aim to make you love its music. Not all of the movie's characters are memorable, and all of their stories might not interest you but in terms of synergy it's a fun filled comedy. With a running time of 135 minutes, and some nebulous sub plots, Pirate Radio seems to drag along at times, but this light hearted comedy is fun homage to a rebellious time that will bring a smile to most music lovers' faces.

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Tags: pirate radio, the boat that rocked

Posted in: Entertainment, Reviews

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