Rocking the boat

Rating: 8/10 (3 December 2010)

It is almost impossible to think that pop music was limited to young English listeners. At the height of the Beatles popularity, only thirty minutes of the BBC radio programming was devoted to broadcast the music that was revolutionizing the country, and the world, for that matter. It only took one enterprising person to figure out a way to establish a system that utilized a ship navigating in international waters with a powerful range to bring the music fans that never tired of listening to their idols.
Richard Curtis, the director of this engaging film, imagines the scene aboard that vessel to illustrate the story. Quentin, a man with big ideas attracted a lot of disc jockeys to animate the programs. These individuals found a way to get to the mostly young crowd that followed their broadcasts avidly. Life on board was a constant party. The mainly male passengers were kept by Quentin with a lot of food and drink. Their camaraderie was well felt, something that was transmitted in their programs to the captive public in England. The source of revenue came from paid ads that kept the enterprise afloat.
The powers that be, headed by Sir Alistair Dormandy, decided to eliminate, at all costs, the pirate radio. The elder ministers felt the new kind of music was a bad influence on the young people in England, so they have to suppress them. To make it possible, they bring a man that was supposed to have the solution to the problem, Dominic Twatt, a hard nosed individual that would do anything to stop the music coming through the airwaves. Although he is proved powerless, he kept interfering with the pirate operation.
The result is a film that reflects the times in which the action took place. The ensemble cast is excellent. Bill Nighy is Quentin. Philip Seymour Hoffman is the Count, one of the popular hosts. Rhys Ifans makes a wicked Gavin Cavannagh. Kenneth Brannagh plays the hard nosed minister that wanted to silence the 'noise'. Jack Davenport appears as Mr. Twatt. Even Emma Thompson comes on board in a funny sequence. She is the mother of young Carl, played by Tom Sturridge.
The film is light and fun for the most part thanks to Richard Curtis and the fabulous music of that era heard in the background.