Rendering 10. Cinema

The article “Good Vibrations” was published by Robbie Collin on March 28, 2013. It discussed Robbie Collin reviews Good Vibrations, a biopic of Belfast punk impressario Terri Hooley.

In addition, is life really as formulaic as biopics make it look? The plot trajectory of Good Vibrations is so predictable you could chart it with a quadratic equation. This is a genial and generous account of the career of Belfast punk impresario Terri Hooley, best known as the man who discovered The Undertones and some other rough gems, while both The Troubles and his troubles took their toll.

Speaking of this situation, the expected story beats are hit in the usual order: the humble beginnings, the arrival of the supportive wife (Jodie Whittaker, doing good work in a boring role), the vital strokes of luck, the equally vital strokes of genius, the backbreak, the heartache, and finally the vindication.

It’s necessary to point out that Colin Carberry and Glenn Patterson’s script gives Hooley some lovely lines to say, while perhaps cutting him a little too much slack. Belfast of the Seventies and Eighties feels right, too: Co-directors Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn are good on tactile details like flat beer and chunky coins; they also let the music speak for itself. This is no 24 Hour Party People (2002), but it induces all the tingles that the title promises.

            In conclusion I’d like to say that Richard Dormer is a Northern Irish actor, playwright and screenwriter. And I think Richard Dormer is a hairy tuffet of charisma in the lead role here.