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    Sid and Nancy

    Reviewed by
    pietroantoni@

    The 1986 film portrays the life of Sid Vicious and doomed girlfriend Nancy Spungen, both helpless and hopeless heroin addicts all in the precarious world of the notorious Sex Pistols of early Punk Rock, with Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb in superb performances. The film had too many negatives to be a bona fide box office smash, but critically it won unanimous grand reviews, receiving a 91% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes with the dean of of all film critics, Roger Ebert, bestowing his highest rating on this punk feature. The film is now considered a cult classic.

    Sid was a mad demented demon who often mistreated Nancy, often nicking her with a knife. There's no question he murdered her in his stupour, but no charges were ever laid as the stoner Sex Pistol was found dead of a massive overdose in a Chelsea hotel shortly after the homocide. The film is visceral, energetic often extremely sad and depressing, drugs at the centre of everything... no control whatever in the couple's life.

    The feature is one full of extreme noise and fury that matches the lifestyle of the pair yet we have a film with a metticulous story line at the very heart of the mayhem. It's a startling movie from start to finish delving into the unsavoury that forever remains all too true. In the biggest scene of the film, Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb improvise the dialogue leading to Nancy's murder, based, however on on interviews given and other material available to the stars. The stabbing scene may be considered fictionalized in its portrayal, based on conjecture, but no one can ever deny that it was Sid who did the killing, totally out of his mind on the unforgiving drugs.

    The film, as I've stated clearly portrays the nasty nature of Vicious and the whole early stages of the punk movement. However, it becomes an anti-drug statement showing the degradation of individuals, deglamorizing that entire unwholesome universe of stars and celebrities. It's quite an eye opener to discover the thousands who died from overdoses in those few short years of early punk.

    Prominent musicians including Circle Jerks, Courtney Love, Iggy Popp, Nico and Tempole Tudor all made guest appearances in the feature, The original music in the celebrated film comes from Pray for Rain, Joe Strummer and the Pogues, Guns 'n' Roses were used as extras throughout the entire production.

    The film came under attack both in Britain and in North America, censors slapping a then RESTRICTED rating to SID AND NANCY due to the gross language, strong violence, hard drug use and its nudity which particularly bothered North American censors.

    The Sid Vicious name is synonymous with the outrageous tone and nature of the film, hard to believe individuals were leading such degrading existences, disgusting in both their private and public lives. It all came to an end all to quickly as the delinquent couple burned itself out just as real fame was on the horizon. It's all doom and gloom, but the film is well worth seeing though it's a harrowing experience. Rarely have two stars been given such positive reviews for the portrayal of two of the creepiest, deadliest pair of lovers. Gary Oldman was dead set against making the movie as he didn't want to undergo the tremendous weight loss, but more he simply did not like that era of music and its musicians. He finally agreed to make the film due to the very substantial stipend he was being offered. The entire scandal of Sid And Nancy is a notorious, macabre, moving memory of a terrible time and place in early punk rock, everything out of control, totally devoid of any humanity, living as the basest of base animals.

    7
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    pietroantoni@  31.8.2015 age: 36-49 14,551 reviews

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