Version I saw: UK DVD release Actors: 7/10 Plot/script: 7/10 Photography/visual style: 7/10 Music/score: 8/10 Overall: 7/10 Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is the story of punk-rock star Ian Dury (played by Andy Serkis). He struggled with the childhood polio that had left one hand and one leg almost unusable, and with the classic rack star egotism that drove away first his wife Betty (Olivia Williams), then his long-term girlfriend Denise (Naomie Harris).
Serkis is the acknowledged master of the motion capture CGI technique, and his command of physical acting was important to portraying Dury's trademark inhibited gait as well as his charismatic stage presence. Seeing him performing the songs made famous by Dury and the Blockheads - and bring some plot-advancing acting into the mix in the very same scenes - is impressive and exciting to watch.
The film features an impressive supporting cast of familiar names and faces: Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Ray Winstone and Arthur Darvill all make significant appearances, and the young Bill Milner has a key role as Dury's son Baxter, an ordinary boy plunged into his hedonistic rock & roll lifestyle.
S&D&R&R has some interesting things to say about disability, and the way we treat the disabled. It is an important part of the film's message that Dury is actually often a quite unpleasant character, treating those close to him appallingly. We have seen the prima donna rock star story a million times, but the in-built dependency on others forced by Dury's weak hand and leg adds an extra dimension.
This is a story about how the thin line between callous and patronising that we all must tread in this area, and about the fact that everyone should benefit from it, not just the people we like.
Serkis is the acknowledged master of the motion capture CGI technique, and his command of physical acting was important to portraying Dury's trademark inhibited gait as well as his charismatic stage presence. Seeing him performing the songs made famous by Dury and the Blockheads - and bring some plot-advancing acting into the mix in the very same scenes - is impressive and exciting to watch.
The film features an impressive supporting cast of familiar names and faces: Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Ray Winstone and Arthur Darvill all make significant appearances, and the young Bill Milner has a key role as Dury's son Baxter, an ordinary boy plunged into his hedonistic rock & roll lifestyle.
S&D&R&R has some interesting things to say about disability, and the way we treat the disabled. It is an important part of the film's message that Dury is actually often a quite unpleasant character, treating those close to him appallingly. We have seen the prima donna rock star story a million times, but the in-built dependency on others forced by Dury's weak hand and leg adds an extra dimension.
This is a story about how the thin line between callous and patronising that we all must tread in this area, and about the fact that everyone should benefit from it, not just the people we like.