Hunky Dory (15)

Film

Drama

Hunky Dory

Time Out rating:

<strong>Rating: </strong>3/5

User ratings:

<strong>Rating: </strong>3/5
Rate this  

Time Out says

Tue Dec 20 2011

From Welsh director Marc Evans (‘My Little Eye’) and writer Laurence Coriat comes a school ensemble piece in which coming-of-age meets let’s-put-on-a-show. The setting is Swansea in the summer of ’76 and our heroine is free-spirited drama teacher Vivienne (Minnie Driver), who plans to see her class off with a ‘Tommy’-style rock opera based on ‘The Tempest’, using the hits of the day. Their production looks like a psychedelic belter – with impressive musical numbers and fashion-forward stylings – but the film is a mixed bag. There’s little to surprise and there are too many characters and strands to get invested in any of them (though Kenny Loder’s Caliban stands out). But Driver delivers a characteristic combination of savvy and likeability and the period and sun-dappled photography are nicely handled. There’s a good sense, too, of the frustrations of school for young adults facing a brave new world.

Author: Ben Walters

5

Comments

Add +

Release details

Rated:

15

UK release:

Fri Mar 2 2012

Duration:

110 mins

Cast and crew

Director:

Marc Evans

Cast:

Minnie Driver, Aneurin Barnard, Danielle Branch, Robert Pugh, Haydn Gwynne

Share your thoughts
  4. * mandatory fields

Comments & ratings

Rated as: 3/5 (3 ratings)

  • Sweet without being sentimental: teenagers fall in and out of love, and don’t always get what they want, just like real life. The Welsh setting gave it a freshness, and for once the teachers in the staff-room were treated with realism. I was a teacher in 1976 in just such a school, and recognised a lot of the petty rivalries of staff protecting their own areas of ‘expertise’. Back then, O-Levels would end in about the third week of June, but term went on for a further month, so the idea of putting on a show in such an apparently short time - just three weeks before the students leave - wasn’t as unrealistic as some have suggested; and the understated self-revelation of the one gay character was handled without sensationalism. Slight, yes - but thoroughly enjoyable.

    marianne w Sat Jul 7 2012
    Report

  • The superb Minnie Driver is always worth the price of a ticket. This is a small film with a small budget with small ambitions. A nice enough way to pass the time of day.

    ARCHGATE Wed Mar 14 2012
    Report

  • Badly-written, unstructured script, pedantic direction, unbelieveable, superficial characters (too many to engage with) and awful sound/music ,costume,make-up.Set in 1976 (why?to what dramatic purpose?), a boiling hot summer- so why unsweaty people wearing suits, jackets and vests?!Main characters had modern contemoporary hair-styles!And shot through a yellow filter which was very uneasy on the eyes. Plot? Messy.Confusing. Unauthentic premise. Which school ever performs last three weeks of summer term (examinations?!) and the headmaster takes part?!! Aneurin Barnard and Tom Harries stood out- although hardly stretched- but Minnie Driver died a slow death on screen, obviously struggling with the script and the direction. Go see it- at the supermarket dvd basket in a few weeks time. Hunky dory it wasn't. A very bad story very badly told.Awful.Embarrassing.

    Jeff Wed Mar 7 2012
    Rated as: 1/5
    Report

  • Great to see a film one can really enjoy. The 70's are depicted well through the sets and clothes. Oh, those happy carefree? summer days.

    Bluemoon Sat Mar 3 2012
    Rated as: 4/5
    Report

  • Exceptionally charming, Aneurin Barnard is one to watch.

    SJBay Fri Mar 2 2012
    Rated as: 5/5
    Report
  • Hotwise
  • Cool brands
  • Star