SoulBoy (2010)

Sadly Over-hyped

Perfectly adorable

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

"SoulBoy" has as its background the Northern Soul scene of the 1970's. It's a dim little picture only partly redeemed by the charismatic presence of the immensely likable Martin Compston and some very decent tunes. As a 'period' picture it's totally manufactured, all the costumes and props looking like they came out of a retro charity shop. It just about passes the time but you can tell there is a much better film lurking in the background trying to get out. It's like a British attempt to resurrect something like "Saturday Night Fever" or "Footloose" and that's where it fails miserably. This is one film unlikely to see the light of day anytime in the future.

The basic scenario of SOULBOY is a familiar one: boy Joe (Martin Compston) meets unattainable girl (Nichola Burley) and follows her up to a club in Wigan that functions as the center of Northern Soul. There he learns how to dance, but while doing so he gradually discovers that plain lass Mandy (Felicity Jones) has fallen in love with him. After Mandy takes an overdose, Joe realizes his true feelings. Back in the club he has an energetic dance-off with smarmy Alan (Craig Parkinson), and emerges triumphant, thereafter to enjoy love with Mandy.The grimy, down-at-heel atmosphere of mid-Seventies Stoke-on-Trent is admirably evoked by director Shimmy Marcus, from the poky two-up, two-down houses to the local pub, where everyone pours pints down without ever seeming to enjoy themselves. Joe's mate Russ (Alfie Allen) has a grotesque dance that he calls the "dying fly," but he can only perform that when he is drunk. Sometimes Marcus overdoes the Seventies aura, such as having politician Enoch Powell speaking on one of the car radios; by 1974 he was virtually a spent force in politics, having resigned from the Conservative Party and joined the Ulster Unionists. Some of the cars seem a little antiquated too, dating from a decade earlier.Once the action shifts to the club, however, the mise-en-scene changes abruptly. Vladimir Trivic's camera admirably captures the phantasmagoria of color, light, bodily movements, sweat and unadulterated fun that characterized the late-night gigs at the club, whose patrons came from all over the country each Saturday night by coach to enjoy the fun. For those of us with longer memories, the set pieces have strong echoes of Saturday NIGHT FEVER (1977) with Joe in the John Travolta role, but that resemblance does not detract from the exuberant staging, in which music and dance combine to create a series of stirring sequences. The final dance-off between Joe and Alan is something to behold: director Marcus uses slow-motion and frequent close-ups to make us aware of the sheer effort involved by the protagonists.The film ends with a series of of short interviews from people - now very much middle-aged - that frequented the club when it was in its heyday during the mid-Seventies. Their reminiscences capture the atmosphere of excitement and daring that was characteristic of the club; no wonder it was named "best disco in the world" later on in the decade, despite its assuming location in a Lancashire industrial town.

Northern Soul is back, it's being pumped into bars and clubs with rising regularity. Understandably with every resurrected craze, it had been converted into a film last year. The story is bland at best, with a predictable and formulaic path. The saving grace is a good performance by Martin Compston and the great soundtrack.Soulboy is branded as a comedy drama, the comedy it speaks of is provided by various cheap jokes throughout, nothing showing real wit or craftsmanship. Cringe worthy dialogue and scenes abound with fairly wooden character acting providing the backdrop for see through storytelling.Joe, as the likely lad, gets mixed up in drugs and the plot takes a dark turn. As it's a light hearted drama, no real harm comes of the actions. I don't want to bash the director and producers of the film as it is brilliantly shot, the dance scenes are a real treat to watch (except for the painful dance off) and everything is set up perfectly for the 70's from the platforms to the flares and the god awful red tank top. Regarding the dance off, maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that in Wigan in the 70's it would've been a fight not a dance. The film didn't need that scene but obviously someone had the bright idea of a big Hollywood style ending. This isn't what the audience wanted from a Northern Soul tribute.Despite all of the problems with this film, it is enjoyable, mainly because of the music, some of which I've now added to my collection. If you enjoy Northern Soul then this film will get you yearning for the Casino Club, if you don't then there isn't a great deal else to draw you in as the script and predictability make it a no brainer of a watch. Without the music, this is a poor man's An Education.

I was really excited about this film being released, based round the northern soul scene, the recreation of the Wigan Casino and all that, so was very pleased to see it was showing in Portsmouth to coincide with my visit.I left feeling disappointed. It is basically a boy meets girl out of reach, boy chases girl out of reach etc. He tries to impress her and win her by getting involved and interested in the club she travels from Stoke to, The Wigan Casino.The cast do well with a script that follows the well worn scenarios we've seen before in other films and the nostalgia is great. Seeing the sign of the Casino Club as they got off the coach genuinely put the hairs on the back of my neck up and some of the indoor dance scenes were OK too, even if they relied too heavily on the old documentary shots from the seventies to fill. I thought they had brought in loads of dancers from the current scene to film? Surely they could have used more of these? The music choice was great and there were some genuinely funny moments, but overall I felt it was more a film that started as a storyline and they needed a cult scene to base it round to fill seats because without it there wouldn't be much of a film and chose northern soul. That is probably not right but I just felt that.I also spent the film wondering why everyone was so bowled over by this blonde girl he was besotted with when the brunette that fancied him was far better looking.Not a great film but an enjoyable one if only for the nostalgia, just don't watch it expecting it to be about the northern soul scene as such, two quick examples to that, the dance off at the end was embarrassing and not something you'd have seen at Wigan, same with someone spinning on their back, but it is a harmless ninety minutes if you want an easy film to watch.