Film review: The Boat That Rocked

Mar 19 2009 By Lorraine Waddell

RICHARD Curtis, by his own admission, has carved out his career by making modern classic love films.

But the Love Actually and Notting Hill creator’s brand new movie, The Boat That Rocked turns its attention to his other love, music.

The story is based on controversial pirate radio stations in the 1960s, in particular Radio Caroline.

It follows the friendship and camaraderie of the DJs and radio staff on the ship.

Aboard the Radio Rock, the cast including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans and Nick Frost, get up to mischief, perfectly sound-tracked with classic pop hits from the Rolling Stones and The Kinks among others.

Besides the hi-jinks on the boat runs, what seems from the outset, a more serious storyline about the government plotting how to bring down the pirate radio stations, forced to operate unofficially as they were not given radio licences.

This however provides just as many laughs as the mad-cap DJs and their antics on board.

Kenneth Branagh playing a stern Minister Dormandy and Jack Davenport as his assistant prove to be an accidental but hilarious comedy duo.

One of the real stars of the show is Tom Sturridge who plays the shy Carl or Young Carl as he becomes christened when he steps on the boat.

He provides an awesome performance of a teenager trying to ‘find himself’ in the mixed up world of drugs and booze which was the 1960s.

Without saying too much about the outcome of the movie, we see Carl on a voyage of discovery about himself, his family and most of all the friends he makes while banished to the ship.

The film is due for general release in UK cinemas on April 1 and is definitely worth a watch.

Without sounding cheesy, it is a real feel-good film and will firmly leave a smile plastered across your face.

It has broad appeal throughout the generations and is accompanied by a timeless and infectious sound-track.