We are in the middle of the 60s. Rock is in full swing. But British radio stations still refuse to broadcast more than an hour a day. It is in this universe that the director of Good Morning England, Richard Curtis, wanted to take us. Hop aboard Radio Rock, where alcohol, drugs and rock music are paramount (not to mention sex).
After being expelled from high school, 18-year-old Carl (Tom Sturridge) is sent to his uncle's boat, Quentin.On board, a pirate radio station named Radio Rock, filled with must-see DJs, bringing rock music to all of England. Sex, Drug and Rock'n'Roll is the motto of this radio station that broadcasts from territorial waters in the North Sea. But this will be without counting on the British authorities who engage in a showdown to put an end to its airwaves, and the rebels who emit them.
Rock is not dead
Good Morning England is based on the story of Radio Caroline, a British radio station known for being a pirate radio station between 1964 and 1990. However, if the film is inspired by these most mythical radios, Richard Curtis has voluntarily moved away from the facts to make room for the show. Because much more than paying tribute to the pirate radios of the time, Good Morning England is above all an apology for the rock of the 1960s.
From The Kinks to Jimi Hendrix, The Who or David Bowie, music is an integral part of the film. Much more than for the quality of the script, the film is to be seen to be listened to. Two hours of auditory happiness, to stumble, to no longer hold in place like electric batteries. We want to be on this bridge, the space of a summer where everything is allowed, where rock flows freely.
Director of the famous Love Actually, follower of romantic comedies (Notting Hill, Bridget Jones), Richard Curtis has surrounded himself with a panel of actors more brilliant than the others. Dressed in eccentric vintage outfits, swinging to frenzied rock, the characters are inspired by the famous DJ's of Radio Caroline. What a pleasure to find Bill Nighy playing Quentin, phlegmatic boss of this crazy pirate station. Or Philip Seymour Hoffman playing The Count, this arrogant but endearing DJ's, adored by all the audiences. His oversized ego will take a hit with the arrival of the faller Gavin Kavanagh (Rhys Ifans). Mix this with a whole panel of crazy characters, to get a perfect concoction of madness.
An imperfect masterpiece
Even so, the film is not a perfection. The director wanted to integrate all the rock possible on a two-hour continuity. A slightly too long format that could have been shortened. Moreover, the script lacks ambition. It tells the simple life aboard this boat, of a troupe of rebels proclaiming rock as a source of oxygen. Nevertheless, the film is attractive because it mixes several struggles. That of the showdown with the British government, where the stakes are political. That of rock, of its longevity, which one might have thought dead for a long time. Also that of freedom, privileges to dance as we please, or to drink alcohol. But what grabs us more is this bunch of crazy people. Extraordinary rebels who persist in bringing rock to life, in any situation.
Puritanism is swept aside with a setback in the face of the energy of rock. A frenzied comedy that will seduce you. Impossible to resist the rock and blues rhythm. Come twist in front of this musically fabulous film.
