Pirate Radio (2009)
Pirate Radio (BRIT) Directed by Richard Curtis Written by Richard Curtis Starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman; Bill Nighy; Rhys Ifans; Tom Sturridge; Nick Frost; Emma Thompson; Kenneth Brannaugh; Rhys Darby; January Jones; Talulah Riley; Tom Wisdom; Chris O’Dowd; Katherine Parkinson; Tom Brooke Jack Davenport; Ralph Brown
Pirate Radiotells the story of a British radio station housed on a ship in order to subvert the BBCs refusal to feature rock and roll on their broadcasts. Taking place in 1966, it feels very much like what it is - an attempt to take a set of historic events and contextualize them via a fictionalized narrative. Though there are appealing moments, the film never coheres in the way that successful examples of the type manage to. Rather, there is always a slight strain to the proceedings owing to an inescapable awareness on the part of the viewer of a screenwriter devising character arcs; mini denouements; and a general build in tension. These structural devices seem very much artificially imposed as opposed to organic, hampering the film with a clunkiness it simply can’t overcome. The pace too seems very much off, and learning that the original cut was trimmed by some tweny minutes (following a financially and unsuccessful British theatrical run) is not at all surprising. That is not to say that there is a complete dearth of fun to be had - the most successful aspect of the piece being its re-creation of a group of disparate individuals who have come together to achieve certain (mostly) altruistic ends. The camaraderie and general rebelliousness of the undertaking are joyfully brought forth, juxtaposed (a little clumsily) with the stodginess of the British Pols who would aim to shut them down. Longtime British screenwriter Richard Curtis, directing his second feature, is known for evincing emotions, and his experience with multiple narrative comes into play as he juggles a host of characters while continually feeding us nostalgic glimpses of period British society through the use of a series of montages. There are too many of them, however, and (as good as it may be) too much music. Seemingly every scene is punctuated by tunes from The Who; Jimi Hendrix; The Beatles; Dusty Springfield; Bowie; The Kinks, et al, with some of the songs ineffectually (whether done with a wink or not) relating directly to the happenings on screen. Curtis employs several of his favorite actors from past films, and the cast in general - Phillip Seymour Hoffman as The Count; Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill)as Gavin Cavanaugh; and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) play three of the djs - is solid. Bill Nighy (Love Actually; The Girl in the Cafe) as the station’s owner is his usual rambunctious self, though Emma Thompson (Love Actually) is underused; and her ex, Kenneth Brannagh (bad guy Sir Allistair Dormandy), a little too cartoon-like. While the subject matter is theoretically compelling, the storytelling is muddled, and the coming of age subplot with newcomer/university dropout (nominal lead) Carl (Tom Sturridge) never quite connects. The Titanic-like section too is unfortunate.