Quadrophenia

USA Release: 2nd November 1979

Watched on DVD: Thursday 21st July 2011

Rating: 18

Genre: Crime, Drama, Music

Runtime: 1hr 57mins

Tagline: A Way Of Life

IMDb Plot Summary: London, 1965: Like many other youths, Jimmy hates the philistine life, especially his parents and his job in a company's mailing division. Only when he's together with his friends, a 'Mod' clique, cruises London on his motor-scooter and hears music such as that of 'The Who' and 'The High Numbers', he feels free and accepted. However, it's a flight into an illusionary world.

FYI: I saw this film in my Sociology class as an introduction to the ‘crime and deviance’ section on youth subcultures.

My Review: Quadrophenia was hard to understand at first as there didn’t seem to much of a plot, just an excuse to play The Who songs and see 1960’s teenagers run amok. By the end I understood that it was more about character progression than any story with substance. It is an interesting portrait of teenage life back then when being a mod or a rocker completely defined you. The only decent acting was from  the lead in the film. The rest were a little stilted. Of course it is hard to know whether this portrait is accurate, as I’m sure (as with many stories) some of it would have been exaggerated. 

Perhaps it was the study influence but I didn’t find that the film grabbed me particuarly. It was interesting but the lack of plot, good acting and focus on trying to shock the audience (which of course nowadays is virtually impossible) put me off a little. I doubt I will choose to watch the film again. In fact the only real thing going for it is the cinematography which was at times beautiful - let down only by the slow lingering shots of, say, the ocean which dulled the pace of the entire film.

Score: 5/10