"Quadrophenia" is a movie that is based in part on the album of the same name by The Who. It also was co-written by Pete Townshend and some of the executive producers included the four members of the band. It's set in the early-mid 1960s in England and concerns Jimmy and his group of 'Mod' friends. The Mods were well before my time but apparently they liked to dress stylishly, drive mopeds and tended towards R&B instead of popular rock 'n roll. Also, the Mods in this film are mostly angry, directionless and seem in many ways like precursors to the punks of the 1970s--though with a much greater fashion sense. Plus, I really cannot imagine punks riding around in motor scooters. But, they both seemed to share a love of violence, drugs and anger.
As far as the plot goes, the film is much like the Mods--rather directionless. This isn't a complaint and the film deliberately chose to show the lack of structure and anger of the Mods. For the most part, these teens drink, fight, take amphetamines, listen to music and stay up all night. Jimmy seems to be among the angriest and most likely to get himself killed. Later in the film, Jimmy and his blokes head to Brighton for a holiday and mayhem ensues. Exactly what happens, you'll need to see for yourself.
As I said above, how much you like the film will depend a lot on you. If you grew up at the same time and place as these hooligans, then perhaps you'll have a feeling of nostalgia watching it. As for me, although the film was well made, it was also unpleasant and I got a bit tired of all the pointlessly angry and disaffected youth. It just wasn't my thing and it's hard to love a film where you cannot stand any of the characters.
A few final observations: I don't think it was unintentional that the leading man, Jimmy, sure looked quite a bit like Townshend. The film sure could have used captions. I saw it on HULU and had to really pay attention to get what they were saying due to the accents. There's also a bit of male frontal nudity--though considering all the violence and anger, I doubt if it's a film you'd show your mom or your kids! Also, the music was very nice--the best part of the film, really.
As far as the plot goes, the film is much like the Mods--rather directionless. This isn't a complaint and the film deliberately chose to show the lack of structure and anger of the Mods. For the most part, these teens drink, fight, take amphetamines, listen to music and stay up all night. Jimmy seems to be among the angriest and most likely to get himself killed. Later in the film, Jimmy and his blokes head to Brighton for a holiday and mayhem ensues. Exactly what happens, you'll need to see for yourself.
As I said above, how much you like the film will depend a lot on you. If you grew up at the same time and place as these hooligans, then perhaps you'll have a feeling of nostalgia watching it. As for me, although the film was well made, it was also unpleasant and I got a bit tired of all the pointlessly angry and disaffected youth. It just wasn't my thing and it's hard to love a film where you cannot stand any of the characters.
A few final observations: I don't think it was unintentional that the leading man, Jimmy, sure looked quite a bit like Townshend. The film sure could have used captions. I saw it on HULU and had to really pay attention to get what they were saying due to the accents. There's also a bit of male frontal nudity--though considering all the violence and anger, I doubt if it's a film you'd show your mom or your kids! Also, the music was very nice--the best part of the film, really.