2010-06-04
N/A
80 min
1974. Amidst power cuts, strikes and boot-boy aggro on the football terraces, Joe McCain is bored of a life that's going nowhere. Enter hair-dresser Jane: blonde, beautiful, and moving to the beat of a whole new world of sound, movement and all-nighter dancing at The Wigan Casino - the home of Northern Soul. Swept along on this tide of pulsating dance and lust, Joe becomes embroiled in the darker side of soul scene that will put his friendship to the test.
Despite a decent cast, <em>'SoulBoy'</em> isn't a worthwhile watch.
It portrays a story that I feel like I've seen many times before, with much of it being quite predictable - even taking that element out, it's kinda cringey to watch unfold. Initially, it feels like a cheap attempt at replicating <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/kevin-perry-go-large/" rel="nofollow">Kevin & Perry Go Large</a>'</em> and/or <em>'<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inbetweeners" rel="nofollow">The Inbetweeners</a>'</em>, though does in fairness deviate from that eventually. The 70s look, meanwhile, does come out well at least.
As for the onscreen talent, a pre-<em>'<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_of_Duty" rel="nofollow">Line of Duty</a>'</em> Martin Compston plays lead ahead of Craig Parkinson, who he'd heavily work with to much greater effect on that aforementioned television show, Felicity Jones, Alfie Allen and Nichola Burley. Bruce Jones, known in the UK for <em>'<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_Street" rel="nofollow">Coronation Street</a>'</em>, is in there too. It's a shame that I didn't like this 2010 flick, as that's a solid cast list for this sorta film.
