Pirate Radio: The Movie, or The Boat That Rocked

Pirate Radio, aka, The Boat That Rocked, is another one of those rock-n-roll movies set in the 1960’s. Movies about the musical era of the 1960’s are as common as canned laughter in sit-coms on television, but this one has a slight twist. Yep, it is set on a boat, and yep, historically there were radio pirates on boats, used to enable broadcasts that would otherwise be restricted by laws in the 1960’s. While rock music is hardly seen as rebellious or controversial any more in the United States or England today, the 1960’s was a time when it was revolutionary, daring, and fun. This film captures that spirit while enlightening audiences about the history of radio – at a time when standard am/fm radio as an industry is competing with webcasts and other updated, more tech-savvy options. For that reason, it is important

In the film you might see some familiar faces - Kenneth Brannaugh, for one, plays an officious, retentive bureaucrat out to ban rock-n-roll from British airwaves. The legal and governmental aspects of the film reflect history, and Brannaugh’s performance elicits some surprising humorous moments. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the sole American deejay on the boat, known as the count. The character he plays is kind of an every-man, but also extremely cool and laid back. It is refreshing and eye-opening to see him in this kind of role. Another great performance in this film comes from the Rhys Ifans, who many audiences might remember as the quirky and strange roommate of Hugh Grant’s character in Notting Hill. This film also marks a surprising departure from the usual roles U.S audiences have seen this actor is as he is cast as the penultimate radio star, the King of Cool and the God of Sex, deejay Gavin. He pulls it off and then some. Bill Nighy, who never disappoints, plays the wealthy and eccentric owner of the broadcast operations. And Jack Davenport, most familiar as Commodore Norrington from the Pirates of the Caribbean films, would seem to be doomed to be cast as the heavy in any movie mentioning pirates in its title.

The storyline is about a young man who, having been kicked out of his school is sent to this boat for a learning experience. It would seem counter-intuitive for a mother (played by Emma Thompson) seeking to discipline a teenage boy by sending him to the very den of the rock-n-roll broadcast controversy, but if I tell you the reason, that would be a pretty big spoiler if you haven’t seen the film. The plot is very loosely hung on this particular storyline.

My opinion of the film as a whole is that it is a great deal of fun, and well worth the viewing, but there are places where it feels disjointed and the narrative gets somewhat lost as the movie is split in several directions. With such a great cast, that is somewhat of a dissappointment, but like many films in recent history, it just seemed like they were trying to do too much in a short amount of time. On the other hand, the ensemble cast and performances were great. On screen chemistry between all actors was believable and I left the theatre with the all important suspension of disbelief somewhat still intact.