BBB.5
(out of 5)
One of the most famous romances in rock history, the relationship between The Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious and the New York punk scene’s luminary Nancy Spungen has gone down in history as one of the scariest combinations of carbon-based chemicals ever witnessed. Vicious (played with terrifying accuracy by Gary Oldman) is a vaguely self-destructive, overly indulgent musician who meets Nancy (a just plain scary Chloe Webb), who is on a definite route to disaster, and the two find each other irresistible from the start. Alex Cox makes sure to please fans of the genre by including recreations of musical performances and references to other popular acts of the day, but what he accomplishes most impressively is finding a lot of genuine love between these two completely disparate people at the heart of all the cruel imagery. You don’t usually feel too much sympathy for immature, suicidal junkies, so the fact that their romance manages to even come across as a little sweet is the result of a humane director who couldn’t have been more suited to tell this story. Courtney Love has a small part in the film, years before she would actually turn into it.
Initial Pictures, U.K. Productions Entity, Zenith Entertainment
Directed by Alex Cox
Screenplay by Alex Cox, Abbe Wool
Cinematography by Roger Deakins
Produced by Eric Fellner
Music by Dan Wool
Production Design by Lynda Burbank, J. Rae Fox, Andrew McAlpine
Costume Design by Catherine Cook
Film Editing by David Martin
Cast Tags: Al Alu, Alexander Folk, Andrew Schofield, Andy Bradford, Angel Dove, Anne Lambton, BAFTA 1986, Barbara Coles, Biff Yeager, Bob Ellis, Boston Film Critics 1986, Bradley Lieberman, Bruce J. Magrane, Cat Vicious, Chloe Webb, Circle Jerks, Coati Mundi, Courtney Love, Daniel Louis Rivas, David Hayman, Debby Bishop, Desirée Erasmus, Dick Rude, Ed Pansullo, Edward Tudor-Pole, Favian Xavier, Fox Harris, G.J. Thomson, Gary Oldman, Gloria LeRoy, Graham Fletcher-Cook, Iggy Pop, J. Steven Markus, James Snell, Jamie L. Crowe, Jeanne McCarthy, Jeffrey Kumer, Jimmy Emig, John M. Jackson, John Snyder, John Spaceley, Jude Alderson, Julie St. Claire, Kathy Burke, Keith Morris, Kelly Louise Lynn, Lawrence Bell Jr., Mark Monero, Michele Winstanley, Miguel Sandoval, Milton Selzer, Mitch Dean, Niven Boyd, Patti Tippo, Perry Benson, Pete Lee-Wilson, Peter McCarthy, Peyton Kirkpatrick, Raymond Rosario, Richard W. Barker III, Rome Jefferson Jr., Ron Moseley, Rusty Blitz, Sallie Anne Field, Sandy Baron, Sara Sugarman, Sherice Prince, Sri Johnston, Stefanie Auerbach, Stuart Fox, Suchi Asano, Sy Richardson, Tom Little, Tony London, Tricia Bartholome, Victoria Harwood, Vincent J. Isaac, Xander Berkeley
New York Film Critics Award Nomination
Best Actress (Chloe Webb)
National Society of Film Critics Award
Best Actress (Chloe Webb)
British Academy Award Nomination
Best Make Up Artist
Boston Film Critics Award
Best Actress (Chloe Webb)
