A fairy tale full of errors

Rating: 3/10 (10 November 2016)

This is a movie made for young people with all the ingredients they need: pop music, love story, a little family trouble and school environment with all its highs and lows. And for sure: a strong reference to recent fashion. So there is not much to say about the whole plot. It is simple and told straight forward. No surprises, no twists.
Besides that the version of the 80ies given by the director is somehow distorted. There are a lot of errors in historical facts and fashion: the two brothers talk about MTV, but the story takes place in 1985 and MTV Europe was founded in 1987. And by that time it could only be received via cable which was very seldom, especially in poor Ireland. In one scene the protagonist tries to be a Robert Smith imposer and wears a donkey jacket. But this kind of jackets were usually worn by skinheads in the 80ies.
But first an foremost the movie misses the spirit and feeling of the 80ies. Because the feeling of the film is just pure postmodern present age. The music played is mainly pop music the kids were listening to. But the old brother of the protagonist, some weird and misplaced 90ies slacker, is giving all those kiddy-pop-records to his younger brother as if they were long kept treasures. It would be more likely that this guy either would have listened to Birthday Party, Billy Bragg, Wire or some other post-punk underground stuff or still to music from "his" time, the late 70ies.
The protagonist changes his design and musical interest like his underwear. But the 80ies were characterized by commitment, credibility and integrity. You chose once if you are mainstream or subculture and than you stuck to it. If you chose to be punk you'd never switched to be new-romantic on the next day. But that is exactly what the characters in the movie do. And it is a way of thinking that perfectly reflects pop cultural habits nowadays that derive mainly out of ignorance.
I played in my first band in 1985 and it definitely felt different - the time, the music, just everything. So if you had your share of the 80ies, forget about this movie. If you are 15 and don't give a damn, enjoy it. But don't expect to learn anything real about the 80ies.
Because it is just a fairy tale with some poorly placed accessories.