09/08/06 Quadrophenia

Quadrophenia (1979), directed by Franc Roddam

watched w/ Leslie (partially); DVD rental (Netflix) @ home

Completely biased and affixed with a childhood mental image of this movie, I hope you understand that this is a truly good movie if nothing but for its deep social commentary and teen-angst bravado. You see...I love The Who as one of the most brilliant rock bands to ever grace a stage and perform arm-flailing guitar licks or pyrotechnic drum explosion displays. Also, my parents had this soundtrack album on vinyl in our household as a child...which lead me to wonder about the 60's British culture and why they eat eels, and furthermore started me on my illustrious vinyl album collection of my own that now includes around 800 records. Anyway, it was these two things that drew me into always wanting to watch this film...even though I had no idea what it would really be about. To clue you in on that, Phil Daniels plays young Jimmy, who runs with the local anti-philistine gang of "Mods." He and his Mod clique hate their dead-end jobs, being misunderstood by their parents, living by the rules, bathing (apparently), and especially their arch-rival teenage-angst enemies the Rockers (who still listen to doo-bop greasy haired "safe" rock ditties, rather than the enlightening grunge of The Who). Through their lives of partying, casual sex, and riding around town on their Vespa scooters (to the Rockers motorcycles...yeah, who's tougher?)...Jimmy feels even more unfulfilled than what with what his clique is trying to escape. He loves and wants to score with Steph, wants to be understood and be meaningful, and idolizes fellow mod face-man Ace Face (eventual rocker Sting in his first movie role). Culminating in the streets amongst a huge youth riot...Jimmy finds what he's looking for, then loses it, then tries to regain everything all at once. It's a deeply moving and underrated musical filmmaking masterpiece, if I do say so myself. A bit disjointed and raw, but that's what is appealing to the storyline and the culture it is representing. Nothing is more classic than the closing scenes of Jimmy's utter frustration taking him literally to the edge...of a marvelously scary cliff as he speeds back and forth on his scooter...contemplating what his next move may be... Not to leave you hanging, but hopefully that will grab you and hook you like this album cover and "Baba O'Riley" always have for me. Teenage wasteland indeed.

5 out of 5 stars