January-February Film Challenge: A Film For Every Letter in the Alphabet

Film Seventeen: Quadrophenia (1979). Director Franc Roddam's drama about a young man, Jimmy, played aptly and rudely by Phil Daniels, and his struggles to find himself is loosely based on the Who's 1973 Rock Opera. The film sets the young Mod's attempts to escape his dull job and teenage life against the backdrop of the Mod/Rocker battle on Brighton Beach in 1964. The battle on the beach and Jimmy's attempts to befriend Ace Face, a teenage idol Mod played by Sting, and some of his other rebellious antics are quite fun to watch. 

I should have probably seen this film as a teenager because it would have fit perfectly in with readings of The Catcher in the Rye or The Bell Jar and other such stories of teenage disillusionment. Instead, I found that I did not relate to the characters or Jimmy's relationship troubles. The excellent music by the early Who and other 1960s groups like the Ronettes and the Kingsmen really capture the mood and feel of the period. Despite its awesome accolades, I can only recommend this one to huge Who fans or 1960s popular culture enthusiasts.



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