Review of Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010) by Cassandra W — 31 Mar 2010

This one slipped under the radar, it's a biopic about one of our greatest musicians, Ian Dury. But it's a very unconventional biopic, done by way of the visual panache of 24 Hour Party People (2002), only it's a lot more serious, although given Andy Serkis' brilliant lead performance as Dury, you'll be drawn into the world of a man who saw things differently.

Ian Dury (Serkis) was stricken with polio as a boy, and abandoned by his father Bill (Ray Winstone) to fend for himself in a special school. Dury got by, although crippled by polio, he never let it get in the way of his work.

He left his first band Kilburn and the High Roads and formed his new band, The Blockheads. Along with this, he was hopping back and forth between his wife Olivia (Olivia Williams) and his girlfriend Denise (Naomie Harris).

But, his disability has taken it's toll on Dury, and his behaviour alienates his wife and girlfriend, as well as his son Baxter (Bill Milner). It's done in an unconventional way because Dury himself was an unconventional man.

It's very well done, and Serkis is absolutely engaging as Dury, a true force of nature. It's an amazing story, and the music is exquisite. Brilliant performances all round and one of the best films of the year.

:d.