If movies like Go and Trainspotting operated as coming-of-age films rooted in 90s alternative culture, this does a similar thing for the 80s punk scene. Given that one culture evolved out of the other, they all feel somewhat similar in tone and aesthetic. Still, writer/director James Merendino has a strong vision, capturing the punk spirit through fast editing, terrific needle drops, kinetic camerawork and an IDGAF attitude pretty authentically. It also doesn't shy away from satirizing some of the more juvenile, shallow aspects of punk, which leads to a lot of (sometimes subtle) moments of dark comedy. The performances are all great and the two main characters are interestingly defined, though some arcs I found to be quite predictable. There are some other structural choices I'm not crazy about (e.g. introducing new characters 40 minutes in; writing out one of those characters 10 minutes later after a pretty elaborate set-up), but I'd say this is still pretty essential for this genre of film. Sure, it doesn't pack as much punch or depth as This is England, but it's a lot of fun.
Shout by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2023-10-18T17:12:33Z
If movies like Go and Trainspotting operated as coming-of-age films rooted in 90s alternative culture, this does a similar thing for the 80s punk scene. Given that one culture evolved out of the other, they all feel somewhat similar in tone and aesthetic. Still, writer/director James Merendino has a strong vision, capturing the punk spirit through fast editing, terrific needle drops, kinetic camerawork and an IDGAF attitude pretty authentically. It also doesn't shy away from satirizing some of the more juvenile, shallow aspects of punk, which leads to a lot of (sometimes subtle) moments of dark comedy. The performances are all great and the two main characters are interestingly defined, though some arcs I found to be quite predictable. There are some other structural choices I'm not crazy about (e.g. introducing new characters 40 minutes in; writing out one of those characters 10 minutes later after a pretty elaborate set-up), but I'd say this is still pretty essential for this genre of film. Sure, it doesn't pack as much punch or depth as This is England, but it's a lot of fun.
7.5/10