Sid and Nancy (1986)

good back-story, and good acting

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

The first time I saw this I was angry with the Sid Vicious . Sid Vicious to me was a legend to be talked about, in awe, at small party's, in my teens; on the east coast. Someone who would give stage shows like no other rebellious young person. Things like razor blades in the mouth and bashing people with his bass guitar made Sid Vicious a legend of his time. I saw him in a movie called DOA https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082226 . When I saw this I was about 22 years old, and I forever respected the punk rock movement; after that. I saw the uncut version at Yale in the public cinema there in Connecticut. I highly recommend watching movies like that with college students. The second time I saw it I was really touched emotionally. Not because of the vices of the characters. What touched me was the love Sid and Nancy had for each other. Here they were living hellish lifestyles that would turn most older adults stomachs; yet there love for each other was so raw and genuine. Seeing them cling to each other so much; aloud me see the some goodness in them. The sadness of the movie as a whole makes it a 10.I do not know if there is a better actor than Gary Oldman. Every since I saw him in Dracula there is no one that can compare. When he does the line: ("I am the monster that breathing men would kill. I am Dracula."); is proof he a one of the best actors out there. Chloe Webb's performance seemed perfect. How exactly someone would come across like that is unknown to me. She did a one of a kind performance; as a top notch actress, for her time. I was surprised to see she is not that well known.

As a big fan of Alex Cox's "Repo Man", I came into "Sid and Nancy" with some high hopes, all of which were dashed by the film itself.Rather than giving the audience a clear understanding of the culture in which the protagonists are rebelling against, as is the case with Otto in early-80's southern California in "Repo Man", we're thrown into mid-70's England with absolutely no context whatsoever. It's a shame, for one because it should be easier to do so in a film grounded in reality as opposed to one grounded in science fiction. Secondly, the Sex Pistols, despite their brief existence and limited output, were one of the most influential bands of all-time and it feels like a real waste to not delve into what exactly made them so influential.So what are we left with? Well, the film is titled "Sid and Nancy", not "The Story of the Sex Pistols" or anything like that, so we have the tale of a toxic, abusive relationship. Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen were not Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers kept separate by forces beyond their control, but a couple of junkies who enabled their poor behavior and likely contributed to each other's early demises.Gary Oldman, as usual, is terrific as Vicious and appears as nearly a dead ringer for the departed musician. His performance, along with some inspired uses of various cinematic techniques and strong visual storytelling, are really the only redeeming factors of the movie. If only the rest of it were as strongly cast as Oldman, but that isn't the case. Chloe Webb is shrill and grating as Spungen and is just a chore to have to behold, but I'm not sure how much of that falls on the actress and how much of it falls on the character. Similarly, Andrew Schofield is a bit too pudgy as Johnny Rotten and thus difficult to believe. It's said that Tim Roth was originally offered that part (and like Oldman he would have made for a great dead ringer for Rotten), but turned it down due to not wanting to take part in a film that depicted such recent history. Given how the movie turned out, it's safe to say that Mr. Roth made the right decision in not being involved with this project.Ultimately, as I said before, the film is about watching a toxic relationship slowly deteriorate to the worst possible conclusion. Aside from Oldman's performance and some inventive visual and cinematic techniques, I didn't like this one and I really can't recommend it.

Depressing Movie about Destructive Forces Showing Destructive Outcasts Facing Their Fate. This Biopic is a Frighteningly Fantastic Film. It is not Really about Punk and its Initial Explosion onto the Pop Music Scene that caused the Death of the Corporate Prefabricated Rock Product that caused the Death of Real Rock, and Ultimately and Fittingly caused its own Death because of a Pre-Determined Pronunciation of Annihilating Anarchy.1977 saw the Birth of Punk and the Death of Elvis Presley, but not before He had puffed up to near 300 pounds and was Literally a Prescription Drug-Addled Zombie who needed to hold Lyric Sheets on Stage because He could not Remember the Words.Here Sid Vicious in the throes of Decline is shown on Stage so out of His Mind on Drugs and Alcohol that He needed to hold a Lyric Sheet because He could not Remember the Words. Both of these Rock Icons were in Real Life just a Heartbeat from Death and those Revealing Moments are some kind of Sad Synchronicity.There is much Truth in this Movie among the Fiction and it is a Riveting and Revolting Riff on the Punk Rock Sensibility, that at the Time made a lot of Sense in its Senselessness. But a Music Documentary it is not. It is a Character Study of Two Desperate and Detached from Life People.The Title says it all. This is the Story of Sid and Nancy and not of Punk Rock or the Sex Pistols. For that see the many Fine Documentaries and Books on the Subject. Don't let the Movie put you off Punk Rock because it doesn't Portray the Essential Energy, Evolution, or Embryonic Essence of the Music and the Movement.It is a Great Film but can be a Hard Watch at Times. Seeing the Death of Real People even in a Dramatization is never Pretty. This is an Extremely Well Acted, Good Looking Movie but is very hard to Look at.

'Sid and Nancy' is a depressing, devastating motion-picture, that works for 2 reasons: Gary Oldman & Chloe Webb. Both of the actors are Mesmerising in their portrayals.'Sid and Nancy' portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of the seminal punk rock band the Sex Pistols, and his relationship with girlfriend Nancy Spungen. Sid Vicious & Nancy Spungen unfold on celluloid as ambitious but harmful people. They are addicted to the wrong stuff, they lack a good tongue, but they aren't horrible people. They are simply among those people, where their addiction takes over their lives. As mentioned, this biopic is depressing & devastating, its not meant for the faint-hearted.Alex Cox & Abbe Wool's Screenplay is devastating yet brutally honest. Alex Cox's Direction, on the other-hand, is appropriate. Oldman as Sid & Webb as Nancy are truly Mesmerising! Oldman is a master actor, he can never be doubted. Webb as Nancy, well words fail to justify her portrayal. Both of the actors deserved Oscar-Noimnations, but they were robbed & how! On the whole, 'Sid and Nancy' isn't for the faint-hearted, but for those who have a stomach for such brutally honest films, should NOT give it a miss.