Pistol

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***Pistol*** is a biographical drama miniseries created by Craig Pearce, based on Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones's memoir, *Tales of a Lonely Boy*. It follows the story of Jones and the band's rise to prominence and notoriety. All six episodes premiered on Hulu on May 31, 2022.

In an interview, director Danny Boyle shared, "I tried to make the series in a way that was chaotic and true to the Pistols' manifesto. We would just run whole scenes, whole performances, without knowing if we had captured the 'right' shot or not. It's everything you've been taught not to do."

## Background

John Lydon spoke of not being consulted about the series and expressed his disapproval: "I'm Johnny, you know, and when you interfere with my business you're going to get the bitter end of my business as a result. It's a disgrace. I fronted this band. I'm the man that wrote the words. I supplied the image and direction, and I think the questions hang on their actions here. If they needed to be this secret squirrel about it then they must have something to hide". He continued, "I think that's the most disrespectful shit I've ever had to endure. I mean they went to the point to hire an actor to play me but what's that actor working on? Certainly not my character. It can't go anywhere else [but court]. And I've met [Boyle] before. It's not like we're complete strangers". Additionally, he filed a lawsuit against the two former band members for the use of the Sex Pistol's music in the series but lost, the judge ruling in favour of Jones and Cook. In an official statement over Lydon's website, it read:

> "For more than 23 years the Sex Pistols have operated on the basis of unanimous decision making. The Disney production is the first time that the unanimous approach has been ignored. It is disappointing that a High Court judge has decided that John Lydon is bound by an undated agreement signed in 1998, which imposes on the Sex Pistols a majority rule arrangement in place of the unanimous decision making process that has been followed for 23 years. Looking forward, there is great uncertainty about what the majority rule approach might do to water down and distort the true history and legacy of the Sex Pistols. Time will tell."
>
>

According to an article, Boyle did try to contact Lydon, though "direct contact was declined".

## Cast

### Main

* Toby Wallace as Steve Jones
* Anson Boon as Johnny Rotten
* Jacob Slater as Paul Cook
* Christian Lees as Glen Matlock
* Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious
* Sydney Chandler as Chrissie Hynde
* Emma Appleton as Nancy Spungen
* Maisie Williams as Pamela "Jordan" Rooke
* Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Malcolm McLaren
* Talulah Riley as Vivienne Westwood

### Recurring

* Dylan Llewellyn as Wally Nightingale
* Ferdia Walsh-Peelo as Nick Kent
* Francesca Mills as Helen of Troy
* Beth Dillon as Siouxsie Sioux
* Iris Law as Soo Catwoman
* Bianca Stephens as Pauline
* Alexander Arnold as Jamie Reid
* Zachary Goldman as Billy Idol
* Daniel Barker as Bob Harris
* Matthew Cottle as Reginald Bosanquet
* Kai Alexander as Richard Branson
* Ben Sardeson as Bertie "Berlin" Bromley
* Trevor Ford as Barnsley Publican
* Ethan Steed as Supporting Artist
* Oli Vance as Punk Bystander
* Bill Odams the Boil King as Rocker
* Andrew-May Gohrey and Daniel-May Gohrey as Joe

## Reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 61% approval rating from critics based on 56 reviews, with an average rating of 6.40/10. The site's consensus states, "Danny Boyle's frenzied direction brings plenty of energy to this punk biography, but the rote conventions of a band's rise and fall make *Pistol* something of a misfire." On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 60 out of 100, based on 28 reviews, indicating "mixed or average". Andrew Male of *Times* remarked, "Seemingly designed to annoy pedantic ex-punks, its retelling of the group's snotty revolution is funny, brash, hyperbolic and loud. It is also sweetly romantic and, at times, desperately sad", while Alan Sepinwall of *Rolling Stone* criticized, "it's otherwise yet another cliche-ridden musical biopic that fails to transcend its genre in a way that *Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols* did with its own."

## References

1. ↑ Sulcas, Roslyn (20 May 2022). "Capturing the Anarchy in the Sex Pistols". *The New York Times.*
2. ↑ Rufford, Nick (24 April 2021). "Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten: How I became my wife’s carer". *The Sunday Times*.
3. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (31 August 2021). "John Lydon: court decision on Danny Boyle film 'so destructive' for Sex Pistols". *The Guardian*.
4. ↑ Malt, Andy (26 April 2021). "John Lydon calls Sex Pistols TV series "disrespectful"". *CMU*.
5. ↑ "Pistol (2022)". *Rotten Tomatoes*. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
6. ↑ "Pistol: Season 1". *Metacritic*. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
7. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (31 May 2022). "'Pistol': Never Mind the Boyle Tricks, Here's the Tame Version of a Sex Pistols' Biopic". *Rolling Stone*.