24 Hour Party People (2002)

Comedy, Drama, Biography

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Writer: Frank Cottrell Boyce
Starring: Steve Coogan, John Thomson, Paul Popplewell, Lennie James

"The unbelievably true story of one man, one movement, the music and madness that was Manchester."

Michael Winterbottom's comedy-drama tells the story of the Manchester pop scene in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, documenting the rise of bands like Joy Division, New Order or Happy Mondays.

Steve Coogan, the comic that gave us Alan Partridge, plays Tony Wilson, a TV reporter who, following his true passion for music, establishes Factory, a record label that would leave its mark in the international dance and pop culture, and would spawn The Haçienda, the infamous nightclub where, with help from Shaun Ryder and his band Happy Mondays, the ecstasy-fuelled rave culture was born.

The film, only inspired by true events, is a combination of facts, rumors, urban legends and the imagination of the screenwriter, with a great storytelling by the director, who often uses scenes that break the fourth wall, in which his characters offer their insight in key moments of the film, and sometimes real footage from concerts, including a Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall.

And in case you liked 24 Hour Party People and its subject, make sure you also watch Control, Anton Corbijn's biopic of Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division.

Plot summary from IMDb: Manchester 1976: Cambridge educated Tony Wilson, Granada TV presenter, is at a Sex Pistols gig. Totally inspired by this pivotal moment in music history, he and his friends set up a record label, Factory Records, signing first Joy Division (who go on to become New Order) then James and the Happy Mondays, who all become seminal artists of their time. What ensues is a tale of music, sex, drugs, larger-than-life characters, and the birth of one of the most famous dance clubs in the world, The Hacienda - a mecca for clubbers as famous as the likes of Studio 54. Graphically depicting the music and dance heritage of Manchester from the late 70's to the early 90's, this comedy documents the vibrancy that made Mad-chester the place in the world that you would most like to be.

Awards: 1 win & 12 nominations.
Runtime: 117 min
R