I'm not a huge Manchester/Factory/JD, NO, or HM fan, but I can see why people could be misled by their own excitement and expectations about the film. It's unfortunate, though, because it doesn;t claim to even be about any of these individuals or bands SPECIFICALLY- it really is just a whimsical portrait of Tony Wilson through his own eyes- and one of the biggest assumed attachments we are encouraged to bear in mind is how much of the film regarding his experience is highly exaggerrated or fiction (the scene with the prostitutes, per se.) I think it's brilliant how the it's basically saying that any film you see based on a real story is bullshit anyway, so here's our story, a lot of it is bullshit and we're going to come right out and tell you this and remind you of it along the way. I have no idea how much of the specific Curtis stuff was candy-coated or rearranged, other than the fact that Peter Hook was much older and fatter looking in real life, but it's also important to be cynical when you go into these things because the fact is it's terribly difficult to turn a real story into a film that will entertain in the same way a work of pure fiction will.
I will say that I don't think the filmmakers had Curtis's seizures in mind when they shot the film, but it's an interesting point that may amuse them- you can probably email Winterbottom. I don't know if it's been promoted in Boston as an Ian Curtis movie (or at all), but he's really only a character for less than a third of the film, as you found out to your chagrin. I'm sure there will one day be an Ian Curtis movie- I think I've read about the rights before in magazines- which will attempt to do everything you want. An Ian Curtis movie that gets secure financing and American distribution, though, is another story- to most of us (the general public) the storyline just looks like "twitchy British guy starts band and kills himself." I'm amazed 24-Hr Party People got this much attention here- I expected it to just not even come out in the States- and I think the big hooks were Steve Coogan's comedy and the fact that the film WAS so unusual- the mock-documentary style, asides, self-referential bits, etc.
Personally, I was disappointed too, but more so with the pacing and the fact that I didn't care at ALL about the Happy Mondays. But i'm sure it means a lot to nostalgic thirty and fortysomething Mancunians. Plus I'm a big Steve Coogan fan.
exactly. upon retreating from the movie, one of us said "i have a feeling that tony wilson was not nearly as clever as how he was portrayed himself in this movie." i did like the tongue-in-cheek hyper-self-awareness! it was very c'mon-hipster-take-it-or-leave-it. the unfortunate reality is that there are 4823098 "but"s.
i wasn't aware of the possibility of an ian curtis movie to any international market at all--i will be on the lookout for news re: that. i doubt an ic bio would be distributed in the us at all due to our token suicide a la 1994.
wow, you gave me some AWESOME feedback, seriously, drew. either way, i think we both respect the concept of a "mockumentary" in general.
I will say that I don't think the filmmakers had Curtis's seizures in mind when they shot the film, but it's an interesting point that may amuse them- you can probably email Winterbottom. I don't know if it's been promoted in Boston as an Ian Curtis movie (or at all), but he's really only a character for less than a third of the film, as you found out to your chagrin. I'm sure there will one day be an Ian Curtis movie- I think I've read about the rights before in magazines- which will attempt to do everything you want. An Ian Curtis movie that gets secure financing and American distribution, though, is another story- to most of us (the general public) the storyline just looks like "twitchy British guy starts band and kills himself." I'm amazed 24-Hr Party People got this much attention here- I expected it to just not even come out in the States- and I think the big hooks were Steve Coogan's comedy and the fact that the film WAS so unusual- the mock-documentary style, asides, self-referential bits, etc.
Personally, I was disappointed too, but more so with the pacing and the fact that I didn't care at ALL about the Happy Mondays. But i'm sure it means a lot to nostalgic thirty and fortysomething Mancunians. Plus I'm a big Steve Coogan fan.
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xoxo a
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i wasn't aware of the possibility of an ian curtis movie to any international market at all--i will be on the lookout for news re: that. i doubt an ic bio would be distributed in the us at all due to our token suicide a la 1994.
wow, you gave me some AWESOME feedback, seriously, drew. either way, i think we both respect the concept of a "mockumentary" in general.
xo
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