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24 Hour Party People - Film Review

The film starts with Tony Wilson (played flawlessly by Steve Coogan) being filmed hang- gliding for Granada TV. When he finally crash lands, in an aside to the camera he lets us know that what we just saw not only did actually happen, but is also a metaphor for the way things turned out. 'Think Icarus' we are told, then, 'If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it, but maybe you should read more'. This monologue sets the scene for the whole movie. You might want to hate this film because it thinks it's clever, but when it comes down to it, you can't, because it actually is.

From this opening, the film launches headlong into what is a biopic of a place in time, Manchester, from the Pistols playing the Lesser Free Trade Hall, invited by the newly formed Buzzcocks, to Factory Records' demise. First thing you have to say about the film is that it's quite messy and very uneven. This isn't really a criticism, because I don't think the film could, or should have been approached in any other way. (From what I've been told) stuff at the time was messy, history is never nice and neat, with all loose ends tied up, and the film reflects this.

The film doesn't set out to be a serious documentary-type film, but is mainly played for laughs, with brilliant set-pieces of some great stories, from those that probably did happen (Paul and Shaun Ryder feeding 300 or so pigeons rat poison), to those that almost definitely didn't (Howard Devoto fucking Tony Wilson's then wife in a toilet shortly after she caught him getting a blow job from a hooker). Taken on the level it was made the film succeeds brilliantly, it is consistently funny, and in addition to this is an interesting look back at history, albeit through nostalgia tinted glasses.

This is a film inseparable from the music in it, as its subject matter is those who made it, and moreover those who lived their lives to it. The music is undeniably brilliant, tracing a history from the Sex Pistols through the Buzzcocks and Joy Division, to the crossover in the eighties, with New Order, Moby's 'Go' and, of course, the Happy Mondays, including the track from which the title of the film was lifted. New Order's new single 'Here To Stay' plays out over the end credits, and it sounds great, as good as anything on 'Get Ready'; it sounds like Spooky recorded for Technique sometime this century. Brilliant.

Having said all this, it has to be mentioned that the film is far from perfect. With him as the narrator and unifying character in the story, you get a definitely Wilson-skewed view on what exactly went on back then. As well as portraying the guy nearer the likeable-twat side of the spectrum, rather than the total cunt we all suspect him to really be, it's inferred that it was through 'Madchester', the Happy Mondays etc. (and thus, of course, through Tony Wilson), that rave culture and acid house came about. This frankly isn't true. Whilst the Mondays and Factory were definitely taking part in what was going on, and were undoubtedly important, the scene had been around long before their, and Tony Wilson's, involvement.

Another criticism is that (in my opinion), the unevenness of the film leads to a curious split in screen time for the different bands that were thrusting Manchester into the limelight. Most of the film about the Happy Mondays, and whilst the first part of the film is about Joy Division, New Order are glossed over, with more stuff on A Certain Ratio. The Smiths get a mention in the final moments, and The Stone Roses only when Mani's cameo is noted. Not only is there a definite stress in the movie on Factory bands (which, this being a Factory biopic, is of course to be expected), but maybe on what you could call 'Tony Wilson's bands'.

Also at times the film seems to be moving too fast, Joy Division are seen transforming from a bunch of bewildered, if talented, kids, to being on the verge of an American tour. Ian Curtis's suicide, whilst touchingly treated, is given little context, much less information, as to why it happened. This is unavoidable I guess in a film where the band are merely players on a larger stage. Those of us wanting a more in-depth look at Joy Division in general and Iain Curtis in particular will have to wait for Danny Boyle's forthcoming adaptation of Ian's widow, Deborah Curtis's, biography; 'Touching From A Distance'.

Even taking all these gripes into consideration, '24 Hour Party' is a great film, one I reckon will be enjoyed not only by those into the bands featured, but anybody who has an interest in culture, society and people (which is probably just about everyone really).