AT THE MOVIES
By Franz Amussen
TALK TO almost any American about Northern Soul and you can expect a blank stare. However, for Brits of a certain vintage the 1970s subculture of amphetamine-fuelled allnighters at the Wigan Casino dancing your rear off end to classic imported American music still looms large in the collective memory. So the new British film of the same name from director Elaine Constantine provides a welcome walk down memory lane. The music, as you might expect, is terrific, but the plot – rather like those long walks home at 6am for the participants – feels tired and predictable.
The narrative centers around John (Elliot James Langridge), an uncertain and slightly alienated teenager yearning for more than his rust-belt northern town can offer. Enter Matt (Josh Whitehouse), the requisite wise man who can teach his young padowan the ways of the Soul Music Force as it were, pulling back the curtain on a thriving subculture where John can really come into his own.
John dives right in to the mysterious and sexy world of the music, quickly becoming au fait with the most obscure and chic corners of the music, and emerging from his own shell with a new haircut and some natty clobber, busting moves on the local dancefloor while fuelling his newfound passion with increasingly large handfuls of uppers.
Constantine does sterling work in lovingly recreating a unique time and place, with painstaking attention to the fashion and dance moves of the time. She clearly has an affinity for this story and it’s completely infectious.
We all know of course that John’s passion is a tainted love and can only lead to a crash – which we see coming way ahead of our two protagonists. But no matter, for us, as for young John, the journey is the destination and the soundtrack that takes us there makes the ride worthwhile.
Northern Soul. Director: Elaine Constantine., Cast: Elliot James Langridge, Josh Whitehouse, Lisa Stansfield.
102 minutes. Rated R.
