SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL

This film was advertised as a “surprise screening” in the MIFF guide, and since I was seeing the two films either side of it (in the same cinema), I decided to take a chance on it.  It turned out to be an encore screening of the closing night film, which was a bio-pic on Ian Durie (who I had no idea who that was).  For the majority of the first half, I hated this film.  I felt it was over-directed and edited and it was a major chore to sit through.  I do not really know if the film calmed down or I just got accustomed to its style, because by about the halfway point, I started to get into the film and by the end, I actually thought that it was pretty good. 

I think the turning point came for me when they were creating the song “Hit Me With Your Rythym Sticks” (actually I don’t even know if this is the correct title of the song or just the chorus), which I recognised and it suddenly hit me – “Oh! It’s a bio-pic!” (I’m slow, I know).  Until this moment, I just thought these were dreadful characters in a film I was not enjoying the slightest, but once I realised that it was based on reality, those problems I had with the characters seemed to disappear. 

I suppose the film has a bit in common with the recent film “The Runaways” [read my review here] as they both deal with the rise and fall of a rock band and examine what you lose in an attempt to achieve stardom.  Troubles with both drugs and alcohol while trying to juggle family issues are also major issues in both films. 

What holds this film together though is the fantastic performance from Andy Serkis as Ian Durie.  He is simply amazing, he just disappears into the role, and you don’t ever once think of his trademark role of Gollum.  The best thing about this film is that it is not sentimental, and it doesn’t strive to show Ian Durie in a more positive light than was true.  Durie was an immature man who did some terrible things, which this film doesn’t shy away from and try to sugarcoat.  Because of these negatives, his humanity actually shows through stronger, and we end up truly loving Durie for the man he was, who makes no excuses for himself, and this is a great asset to the film.  This task may have been  made easier by the fact that Durie is no longer with us, but that does not matter. 

Overall, while it was initially (very) hard to get into, and it does have its flaws, “Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll” ended up being a worthwhile experience.

3 Stars - Viewed at the 2010 Melbourne International Film Festival