24 Hour Party People--Tony Wilson--Excellent Bio-Pic of Mr Manchester

Director Michael Winterbottom created a cinematic anomaly in 2002 with the film 24 Hour Party People. He managed to create a biographical movie that didn't suck. Though it purports to be a chronicle of the Manchester music scene from the early days of Punk Rock through the Madchester rave era, the reality is that it is about the late Tony Wilson, journalist, Cambridge grad, nightclub owner and impresario of Factory Records, a label that combined great music with equally great design. The movie is witty, hilarious, sad, ironic, at times ludicrously surreal. Wilson uses the tale of Icarus from Greek Mythology as an analogy for his boom to bust story.For the most part, 24 Hour Party People is everything a punk movie ought to be, though I do think it got bogged down a bit toward the conclusion. But then again, the same could be said about Good Fellas. I think it is definitely a must-see movie for music fans.

The funny thing is when I bought this DVD, I was put off by the cover.

It looked to me like they were touting this film as some sort of British version of the American "Spring Break" movie, but with ravers instead of drunken frat boys, at least judging by the cover. I get the impression that by placing a salacious design on the cover might enable them to cover their losses on this one in the States. I bet some people bought this on a whim and were unpleasantly surprised! My sentiments were the reverse.

At the center of the maelstrom is Steve Coogan, the actor who portrays Tony Wilson in this bio. I recall reading someplace that Wilson was not that pleased with Coogans performance and was full of criticisms. Coogan finally cleared the air and said to him, "Look, you're smarter than me, but remember, I'm funnier than you." (I paraphrase). Coogan is the heart and soul of this film, and gives a fantastic performance. There are so many great lines scattered throughout the film. One of the more hilarious moments during the film is in some of Coogan's chatter toward the conclusion of the film, where he modestly states that he is just a minor player in all this, and that the real story are the bands!! If you to go back and assess things, it is pretty clear that this movie is all about him, whether he is mugging his way through tedious human interest television spots, or pontificating on any number of subjects as a narrator. I enjoy how Winterbottom has Wilson in a present setting, talking about things that are going to happen like a punk rock fortune teller. While some accepted yarns are demolished, Winterbottom creates new piles of malarkey, which keeps the movie interesting. There was a quote about the Pistols show, if you have a choice between truth and fable, print the fable. I think that in some strange way a different, more revealing kind of truth can emerge that way.



One of the early classic scenes is a historic re-enactment of the famous Sex Pistols show in Manchester, where the punk fable gets deflated a bit. 42 people. So you probably were not there--maybe no one was. But the significant thing was, the people who did not wind up forming bands were in the minority that night. And many of those bands turned out to be pretty great!! Winterbottom actually spliced in concert footage of the Sex Pistols for this scene, but I can't help but be amused that most of the characters in the movie were portrayed by actors. It seems a bit surreal as if someone had a casting call to play me in a movie!

For instance:

Martin Hancock: Howard DeVoto
Andy Serkis (Gollum): Martin Hannett
Danny Cunningham: Shaun Ryder
Chris Coghill: Bez
Sean Harris: Ian Curtis
Dave Gorman: John the Postman
Raymond Waring: Vini Reilly
Simon Pegg: Mark Middles
Paddy Considine: Rob Gretton, manager New Order
Lennie James: Alan Erasmus, co founder of Hacienda

I wonder if they had a casting call and had dozens of Bezes dancing around in a studio trying out for the part!

Overall musically, the movie focuses mostly on Joy Division, New Order, and later Happy Mondays, though artists like A Certain Ratio and Durutti Column are not neglected. The interplay between producer Martin Hannett and Wilson is both humorous and terrifying as you will discover when you see the movie. The Joy Division period is both exhilarating and tragic--I think the staged live scenes were done quite well. I think after a while the movie moves away from its strengths and spends too much time panning across the crowds at the Hacienda and too little witty dialogue. There are some good bits with the Happy Mondays, especially when Wilson compares his lyrics to the poetry of Yeats, and his girlfriend responds by saying that everyone else think he's a fucking idiot. Sounds kind of like a drug allusion there. The Happy Monday's scene with the pigeons may not be to every ones taste however.

My favorite line was when Coogan turns to the audience and states "Don't judge me, I was just being post-modern, before it was fashionable." Of course some people prefer fart jokes, but if you listen carefully to Tony Wilson's wild digressions and shout outs to the audience you will really laugh like I did.