Hunky Dory (2013)

You won't be disappointed!

Very well executed

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The storyline and the music brought back fine memories (I was almost the same age in the same time period--and oh how the music took me back). In this the script was VERY successful in conjuring a specific time and place. Although I was in the United States rather than Wales, I would have to say our general teen experiences of the times were pretty similar on both sides of the Atlantic. We certainly experienced that same raging uncertainty of being a teen of any time period, but ours was greatly amped up by the extraordinary social upheaval of the 60s and 70s, which could only serve to exacerbate the general fear of what comes next in anyone's teens. This anxiety would be even more potent in a region with rampant unemployment and open class warfare (not to mention the ongoing clash in Ireland of the time). The excellent use of music in this film brought out qualities in the songs that were lost when streamed out on the radio waves among the popular playlist of the day, and certainly threw them into a new light, with nuances I'd never before considered. Very effective and in some places, positively poignant. I thought the choices of music were excellent; so much so that I could have easily enjoyed much more of it and more of the film in turn, just on that alone. To be truthful, the movie really could have used another half hour or more, just to flesh out the more important characters. There were some interesting people here, but the length of the film gave them-- and in truth the storyline, short shrift. While that could have been addressed by reducing the number of main characters or focusing less on the more extraneous of the story lines, I don't know if I would have in fact enjoyed the film more by doing so. I would have like more of everything to be truthful; more exploration of the characters and their relationships that we were exposed to; more of the film's interpretation of the music put through the lens of of hindsight; and more development and rehearsals of their play--when juxtaposed and compared with the daily lives of the film. Certainly not everyone will agree with me, but it was a terrific little film--and I'd like to see more of it. Just more. Not the Hollywood treatment, no, that would alter it's character too much I fear, but just more of what we were given all too briefly. Yes I admit, I may be biased by my own familiarity and nostalgia of the times, but I am not going to apologize for that. I simply Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. Oh for.... they wouldn't allow me to capitalize that I "love it". L.O.V.E.D. I.T. I don't understand how anyone can consider this shouting for god's sakes, it's only a voice in your own head powered by your own imagination. No one is shouting! If anything that exclamation point conveys shouting more than capitalizing an entire word. Capitalizing only emphasizes the word or words. Emphasis, not shouting. I would italicize it but that doesn't W.O.R.K. on IMDb's website. If you italicize or even bold letter a word it just comes out with ampersands and all kinds of mixed symbols--but no italics or bold letters. If they fixed that then I wouldn't be tempted to S.H.O.U.T.! Moderators? Do you read these?????

A half decent film in terms of plot and a good film in terms of acting. The only thing that annoyed me slightly with the acting was Kristian Gwilliam who I thought was awful. Interesting to see how many actors from this film have now gone on to appear in Stella, I think that shows how well the cast worked as a unit. The pace did feel a little off at times where you get a sudden change of direction before reverting to the original pace of the film almost as if a scene had been cut out. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of some of the characters back stories in the first half of the film and I think the film should have been made a bit longer to accommodate that. The character of Lewis in particular who was well played by Adam Byard seemed to feature a lot more prominently in the second half of the film compared to the first. I also thought that some of the cast were a bit under used with Di Botcher particularly taking a very minor role and given her past experience in Twin Town and that she has since gone on to be in Stella I was surprised to see her in such a minor role. Overall a decent film which im giving 6 out of 10 which isn't a bad rating off me considering I don't usually go for musicals.

Let me start by saying I'm NOT a fan of musicals or Glee. As a matter of fact, I can't stand them unless its a musical with good music like Rock of Ages or Mamma Mia. Anyhow, this movie blew me away. I haven't been this captivated by music in a movie and the characters in so long. I loved Minnie Driver's performance and her voice is amazing. She sings a rendition of Going Back by Carol King that is just beautiful. The kids are so talented, too. I see big things for Aneurin Barnard. I really recommend this film if you like those British indies like The Full Monty, Billy Elliot, and Brassed Off, I also recommend it if you are a fan of David Bowie, ELO, The Beach Boys, the Byrds and Nick Drake. The soundtrack is excellent and I listen to it a lot. I don't review movies all that often, but this one was so worth it to me. I'm surprised at some the meh reviews because its way better than that.

As a huge fan of Minnie Driver, I will happily admit to an inclination to watch any film in which she appears. Hell, I even saw that Disney Tarzan movie in which she wasn't even on the screen. So, call me biased. But not even I, a card-carrying member of the MD club, could bring myself to say anything in support of her latest venture, a Wales-set nostalgia-fest entitled Hunky Dory. La Driver plays a teacher. But not just any teacher, of course. Oh, no. MD plays a wacky, slightly f**ked-up teacher whom all her kids adore and who wants to get the kids to put on a big end-of-term show. What show? The Tempest. But not just any Tempest. Oh, no. This will be a Tempest the likes of which you have never seen, and will never want to see, ever again, for as long as you live. Yes, it's The Tempest, but with the songs of David Bowie, and others, performed by the kids, all of whom are either excellent singers or excellent musicians, or both. Which is handy. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the plot. The kids have some issues which get in the way: one might be an arsonist, one is a bit mental, one is, surprise, gay, and one doesn't fancy someone, but fancies someone else instead – crazy! Not all of the teachers approve of Driver and her zany plans. Boo! Hiss! But Driver being Driver, she perseveres, or, rather, the plot just trundles on, avoiding any genuine conflict, any genuine character development, any genuine engagement, anything genuine at all. Every five minutes or so there is a musical number featuring the aforementioned eerily note-perfect singers, accompanied by other kids hitting milk bottles or blowing into recorders. Then one of the kids will have a strop, tell the headmaster to f**k off, storm out, and – oh, no – raise very real doubts that the show will go on. But, of course, the show will go on, even if someone burns down the school hall. Who burned it down? Doesn't matter (and we never find out) because the show can be put on in someone's garden instead! Hurrah! Hurrah for Miss Minnie and her wonderful pupils! Just when you think it can't possibly get any worse, the finale introduces, from nowhere (spoiler warning) some... I can hardly bring myself to say it... some... oh, dear God, make it stop... some shadow puppets. Shadow puppets. Where did they come from? No, really, where? And who made them? And when did anyone get any time to practise with them? And then, as the end is finally in sight, and you get over your paralysing envy of the two people who were brave enough to walk out an hour earlier, the makers of this narcissistic, self-indulgent, dramatically fake, vacuous, inept, embarrassing bore pull off their greatest trick. You know how at the end of some films they have little on-screen summaries of where the characters are now? Fred works in a chip shop in Chippenham, and it's ironic cos all the way through the film he was always eating chips! You get the idea. They do that here, and it's indefensible and crass, for so many reasons. 1. We hardly know these characters at all, and certainly don't care about them, at all, so this little précis of their later lives is totally irrelevant. 2. Using the Falklands war to try and add a little gravitas to such a trivial and gravitas-free film is offensive and opportunistic. 3. You're just prolonging the agony – roll the credits, make it stop, let us out of here.I have seen many, many films in my time (far too many, probably) but never before have I been so tempted to walk out. This temptation began within the first five minutes, when I realised, with grim certainty, that here was one of those films where they compiled the soundtrack first and made the film around it. Photogenic kids singing Bowie, Drake and EL-effing-O. Minnie. The 1976 drought. Hey, this thing practically writes itself. No, it doesn't. It's a nightmare. Two hours and seven quid I will never get back.