From the moment Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) bursts onto the screen in "The 24 Hour Party People" using his acerbic wit and self deprecating humor to deal with his inability to master the art of hang gliding when he crashes into the English countryside one time too many under the watchful eye of his TV cameraman, you get the distinct feeling that you are watching something special.

Director Michael Winterbottom and his frequent collaborator screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce have decided to tackle the life and times of one of the key figures who helped put Manchester on the pop-cultural map of England in the eighties like Brian Epstein did for Liverpool with the Beatles in the sixties.

Tony Wilson is funny, charming, and charismatic. He’s a Cambridge educated news reporter who doesn’t just report the news, he creates it. Behind his pranks and pratfalls is a deep seated desire to become part of something bigger than himself. He explores the fads of his day with the zeal of a rabid fan. Tony longs to find that one defining moment that will mark the birth of a cultural revolution that will make his escapades, like hang gliding, worthwhile. He finds it in a small club at a performance by a relatively unknown group called The Sex Pistols.

Wilson steps out of the action and speaks directly to the audience and successfully persuades its members to become willing participants in his revelry. By allowing their main character to break the fourth wall, the filmmakers raise the bar and turn "The 24 Hour Party People" into a tall tale told by a master raconteur. It’s a bold stroke that pays off in dividends throughout the remainder of the film. Wilson becomes a one man Greek chorus bridging one scene to the next with the insight of a social historian citing relevant facts and figures to back up his claims.

A live broadcast of a performance by the Sex Pistols on BBC-TV is Wilson’s clarion call to the disaffected youth of Manchester to band together in common cause to channel their rage through the music. It’s a time of high unemployment, labor protests and government crackdowns. It’s not a good time to open a club but that’s just what Wilson does. He’s a man who swims against the tide. Dozens of groups seek his patronage. What he needs is someone with the talent to match his ambition. He finds it in the music of Joy Division - later to become New Order after the suicide of its lead singer and song writer Ian Curtis. With their manager Rob Gretton (Paddy Considine) on board, Tony Wilson launches Factory Records.

From this point on, "The 24 Hour Party People" plots the arc of the post punk movement emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between Wilson and his artists until technology becomes more important than lyrical content and musicianship. Scribbling becomes the rage with the DJ as the final arbiter of taste.. His recording artists are given the freedom to explore new ideas to meet the challenge with open ended contracts to free them from the constraints of business. They squander their opportunities in a haze of drugs. Chaos is inevitable but not before being feted to the music that still defines an era. In Wilson’s own words, "It’s about the music!" And when the music dies, so does Factory Records.

"The 24 Hour Party People" is a testament to the times that allowed bands like Joy Division, the Happy Mondays and others unfamiliar to me, to take root and thrive. A key component to their popularity was the Hacienda Club opened by Wilson in 1982. But like its counterpart, Studio 54 in New York, it came complete with all the trappings that would later bring its demise.

You don’t have to be a fan of the music to appreciate the passion that drives "The 24 Hour People." Steve Coogan’s bravura performance pulls you into the movie and keeps the engine revved up with his mesmerizing presence but it’s Michael Winterbottom’s artistic vision that brings it all home. There is a genuine feeling for the times that allows you to experience them without ever having lived them. I loved this movie!

Copyright 2002

‘Wonderland" (1999) - Moody film about several generations of a family struggling to survive at work and play in working class London who put their personal problems aside when the need for solidarity emerges. A story about real people in real situations may cut too close to the bone for some but I found it mesmerizing because of its pacing and use of music. Ian Hart is superb fair weather father who would rather be at the pub than with his son. Also with Stuart Townsend, Molly Parker and some other faces you may recognize from some BBC productions on PBS.

"Jude" (1996) - Another moody film - based on Thomas Hardy’s novel "Jude the Obscure." Christopher Eccleston is a self educated stone mason who can’t break out of his caste. Love with a distant cousin played by Kate Winslet brings tragedy to both. Also with Rachel Griffiths.

"Hilary and Jackie" (1998) - Based on a memoir by the renowned cellist Jacqueline du Pres tells the story of her stormy relationship ship with her equally talented sister who opts for the security of marriage and a life in the country. Traces their lives from childhood to Jackie’s untimely death. With James Frain as her husband conductor Daniel Barenbohm. The acting is top notch but the film itself is a triumph of style over content that tells the same story and interprets the same events from different points of view in a way that alters the audience’s perception of both women.

"Welcome to Sarajevo" (1997) - Based on a true story, this one has the look and feel of war because it was shot in Bosnia where the story takes place. You can’t tell what is real and what is staged. A journalist becomes involved in the plight of some orphans caught in the crossfire of ethnic cleansing. He makes a promise to one young girl he may not be able to keep. Stephen Dillane is the reporter. Able support is supplied by the likes of Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei.

"Butterfly Kiss" (1995) - Amanda Plummer delivers one of her most disturbing performances with all the zest and zeal her character demands as Eunice - a deranged woman in search of her lost lover - who may not exist except in her imagination. It starts out like a road movie, turns into "Thelma and Loiuse" and morphs into a slasher flick. Not for all tastes but it stands in marked contrast to Winterbottom’s other films.