Review of Sid and Nancy (1986) by James W — 15 Mar 2008

I don't know what it is about me and music movies. I'm far more forgiving about biopics if the main character is a famous musician whose music I like. Seriously, I was really into this movie.

I have to credit Alex Cox. I am pretty sure that this is the first movie of his that I've seen, but I really dug it. The problem is that Sid Vicious's story is a lot of the same stuff. He's in the Sex Pistols. The Sex Pistols break up. He sucks alone. The entire time he's on drugs. He loves Nancy. They beat the high holy hell out of each other. It's a lot of that for most of the movie. But Cox, he makes the movie interesting. He has these really fun, cool shots and a great score (which kinda disappears for the second half of the film, which is a shame, but Vicious isn't doing sh*t in those years) and these really nifty foley effects.

The film keeps you wondering what is real and what isn't, which is a heck of a choice in a biopic. Either way, the footage is crazy as sh*t. I mean, Sid and Nancy (which is the movie's thesis statement) were f*cked up. Sure, they were in this demented version of love, but they were crazy f*cked up. I caught myself stretching out my face when Sid takes a razor blade to his chest.

Gary Oldman is fantastic in this movie. This was a very early role for him and he handles it like a champ. I liked Chloe Webb, but I kept seeing the girl from Ghostbusters II who shared a room with an alien on Bill Murray's talkshow. Yeah, she's obviously a very different character, but she's got these mannerisms that just stick out like a sore thumb.

I did find myself drifting from time to time simply due to the repetetive nature of the movie, but overall, I really loved it. Nice job, everyone. Now I'm afraid to get to know musicians.