Doomsday Doomsday
Oct
07
2008

Raindance Film Festival Review: Clubbed

Posted by James Dennis at 12:01pm.

Posted in Film & DVD Reviews , Thriller, Drama, UK, Ireland, Australia & New Zealand.

Neil Thompson’s Clubbed is the epitome of what’s wrong with British cinema today. A post Guy Ritchie, Shane Meadows wannabe, with neither the soul, imagination or insight of either director. Danny (Mel Raido) is a down-trodden factory worker in an un-named midlands town (in reality it was filmed in Birmingham) during the 80s whom we first meet at the gates of a prison as a voice over asks the rhetorical question of what it’s like to spend 12 years behind bars. Cue flashback.  Danny’s life is crap; his estranged wife thinks he’s a loser, he’s beaten up by the local thugs (whilst his daughters watch) and he’s in a dead-end job. Just when things couldn’t get much worse, amiable doorman and sometime boxer, Louis (Colin Salmon) comes to the rescue. Offering a host of helpful tips on how to fight and then avoid actually fighting (apparently read The Art of War for more info…) he takes Danny under his wing, aided by fellow bouncers Rob and Sparky. Danny starts to regain some self respect and things are looking up, just in time for flaky, unhinged Sparky (Scot Williams) to ruin the party for everyone.

Taking its visual cues from a recent crop of nostalgic 80s fare, most notably Shane Meadow’s excellent This is England (also Midlands based), Clubbed desperately strives for some sort of significance whether via the ska-generation, skinhead aesthetic or the pretentious voice over. One scene in particular has our bouncer brigade lined up against a wall in ‘iconic’ 80s dress , only rather than creating wistful longing for years gone, it jars horribly with the drabness that is almost every other scene.  The standout death (a tacky rehashing of the crucifixion in The Long Good Friday) is incredibly poorly staged; no-one seems to know where to put the camera, what to look at, or why. The dialogue is dreadful and people in the screening I was at were audibly laughing at this supposedly heart-wrenching scene.

The bouncers themselves mostly put in serviceable if unremarkable performances, with the exception of Scot Williams (Sparky), who struggles with even the most basic emotions (anger, fear etc). Ronnie Fox musters up a savage but entirely forgettable approximation of a gangster boss as Hennessey – old Jag, camel overcoat, driving gloves, greasy hair. But this is all beside the point in a film whose emotional core sits with Danny, and Mel Raido is in trouble from his first lines. Now I understand that he’s portraying a young man who’s somewhat lacking in confidence but the limp and simplistic way he delivers his lines inspires not the slightest bit of empathy - childish outbreaks of anger confirm he’s not to be sided with. I found myself in ex-wife Angela’s shoes; don’t let him in! You’re right, he’s not responsible enough to be trusted with the kids! And worst of all, like so much of the 90-odd minute running time, Danny is a charisma free zone.

I could pick away at this crusty scab of a film all day, but what really grates is what it represents; the worst in derivative British cinema. The filmmakers and cast have pillaged the best and worst of the past 40 years of British film and managed to construct something with no personality of its own whatsoever; shuffling along like an insecure, clingy wretch desperate to emulate its far cooler big brother.

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Reader Comments

  1. CAIMAN 10/08/2008 @ 1:02am

    I was also at the Raindance screening on Monday night. I could not disagree more! In fact the review (if could call it that) seems to me like nothing more than the rantings of a frustrated failed film maker.

    I thought the film showed great heart, it’s exactly the kind of film we should be seeing coming from British film makers. The story based on writer Geoff Thompson’s life was dealt with incredible intelligence and sympathy. Visually, I thought the movie looked superb.Performances from Mel Raido (Danny) and Colin Salmon (Louis)were also great. All in all, I thought from the the toe tapping start of title sequence to the explosive ending, this was a thoroughly enjoyable film. Keep up the good work guys!

  2. James Dennis 10/08/2008 @ 1:13am

    As always with twitch it’s great to hear different perspectives - Todd raised this only a day or so ago in response to the question of why we often run multiple reviews. As for ‘frustrated failed film maker’, it’s worth remembering that not everyone who writes about films wants to make them.

  3. Paolo 10/08/2008 @ 4:15am

    What a confused critic you are. I also have watched a lot of the films at Raindance and must say Clubbed is one of my favourites so far. You seem to miss the point about the art of fighting is not fighting, the way we as humans tackle the worst situations in life is through humour - hence the laughs were invited, deliberate and received. Your cheap, if not predictable, comparison jibe about Meadows/Ritchie is way off the mark. The films visuals/style/setting are worlds apart from This Is England (Clubbed is about MEN in the 80’s Club land, not kids in the streets trying to be grown-ups) It also manages an ending, something Meadows always forgets and as for Ritchie you slag his latest feature randomly in your bizarre review of “Flick”. Clubbed was based on true events, the crucifixion scene(which was worse in reality according to the producer) actually happened, yet you say should not be in the film because it is slightly similar to another film and because it was shot with some sensitivity of the subject, is tacky. Can’t wait for your next review….or maybe I can.

    Clubbed was refreshing, has meaning and a must see.

  4. James Dennis 10/08/2008 @ 5:13am

    I took issue with the art of fighting being not fighting because a number of scenes wilfully abused the very ethos Louis was trying to promote. In particular where Danny has his first proper run-in with a drunk who won’t leave the club. The other bouncers gather round drinking coffee and laughing at him as he struggles to beat the guy up. A casually violent scene like this, played for laughs at the expense of the victim(s), is entirely different from showing people using laughter to overcome a frightening or stressful event (as they do in the crucifixion scene).

    My laughter there wasn’t a response to the characters’ laughter, more at the cliched way the whole event was handled (cigarette in mouth, feeling cold etc). I’m not suggesting the scene shouldn’t be in the film, but that it was handled poorly. Also, just because something is true doesn’t necessarily make it work dramatically - there are many many exciting real-life stories that would be unsuitable for a feature film for a variety of reasons.

    The Ritchie/Meadows references are to provide some sort of context against the work of two of the most high profile British directors working today, and Clubbed extensively recalls the work of both, intentionally or not.

  5. Londongirl 10/08/2008 @ 8:45am

    Hello all!!

    Ok I didn’t see CLUBBED at Raindance but at the screening at Prince Charles. I have been a member of their online groups and been following their progress. I have to admit I was totally shocked when I saw this review!

    I LOVED IT!!!!

    I just thought it was a great, fresh Brit movie!

    In my opinion the acting was top notch especially Shaun Parkes and I disagree with you James I think this real-life story was made for the big screen.

    I will be seeing it again!!!

  6. Dexter 10/09/2008 @ 4:05pm

    Saw this at Raindance too and couldn’t agree less. Thought it was thought provoking, entertaining and original and was really well received by the audience I sat in. Spoke to a few people on the way out who were blown away by it.

    Read quite a few reviews over the years but rarely one so off the wall or off the mark as this one. Don’t know what the director did to you to deserve this but it must have been bad!

    I hardly know where to start, but will just pick up on a couple of points. So Clubbed took it’s visual cues from Shane Meadows and This is England did it? You really should have gone to Specsavers mate. Great film in its own right, but what it’s got to do with this apart from having male characters in a town that isn’t London? “Skinhead aesthetic”...where? If there was a skinhead present he must have been in the bogs when the cameras were rolling.

    And Scot Williams...he was brilliant in this...a real standout performance in my opinion. Did you really watch this?

    To borrow a phrase, I could pick at this scab of a review all day, but don’t have the time. Don’t know what you do for a proper job James, but don’t give it up just yet.

  7. James Dennis 10/10/2008 @ 2:02am

    The reference to ‘skinhead aesthetic’ has specifically in mind Hennessey’s two thugs - bomber jacketed, shaved of head and Doc-Marten wearing. Their physical presence (clothes, attitude, gait) all betray a highly familiar ‘skinhead aesthetic’ and this contibutes a significant part into how the film feels and looks.

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