Review of Sid and Nancy (1986) by Matthew S — 09 Jul 2015

I can remember the sense of excitement I had when I was able to see it. I can also remember the shock of seeing Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb approach their respective roles in such a vitally realistic way. It was not what I expected from an Alex Cox movie. But what he delivered was so much more than I thought he could do.

The film itself is often truly gutting, but just as you feel like you're sliding into a cinematic hole of darkness -- Chole Webb would desperately growl out a line like, "What about the farewell drugs?" or "AAGGHH! I look like fuckin' Stevie Nicks in hippie clothes!" --- and we'd be temporarily pulled back up into dark comic genius. It is the constant mix of harsh realism, dark comedy and surrealism that allows the viewer to survive the experience of the film and the two performances that never ring false.

Even then, I knew that much of what I saw on the screen was realistically done -- but not truth. No one really knows what went down in that room at The Chelsea Hotel. But anyone who was into PUNK or aware of The Sex Pistols "story" would never be able to buy the idea that Sid Vicious could have murdered Nancy Spungen. Actually it would have been more believable for her to have murdered him. Alex Cox knew PUNK better than most and he knew this too. He never intended to offer "truth." He was articulating not the tragic lives of two junkies, but paying homage to an idea.

Sid & Nancy is less about the "reality" of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen as it is about the "idea" of what they came to represent. Cox is applying his ideas to form another level to the legend of these two misfits who managed to find some very limited success.

26 years later, Sid & Nancy remains a potent examination of co-dependancy, addiction, despair, self-loathing, loneliness and true human horror. But in between all of these profoundly dire moments there is a great deal of twisted comedy.

It is impossible not to laugh as Sid & Nancy navigate their way through the mayhem and chaos they often create. Cox even manages to inject some clever uses of Surrealism. I'm fairly certain that the original title for this movie was "Love Kills" but that became the tag line used to promote the movie. And of course, the idea of love as killer can be taken more ways than one.

It is an odd film that captures the after-effects of PUNK while still maintaining the PUNK ideals. Cox's earlier movie, Repo Man, was actually the more PUNK movie. This film is more of a sadly comic ode to a quickly fading memory of an idea that never managed to fully form. And it is unforgettable. Even while it does not present a true depiction of the infamous couple, it is close enough. It is a fascinating, grim and often funny trip of a movie.

It also contains two truly incredible performances. Brilliant. A must see movie. Now, how do spell "holiday?".