Worth: $18.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Leanne Best, Timothy Spall, Mark Lewis Jones
Intro:
… takes on serious subject matter but uses music, great characters and an involving plot to weave something special.
Bolan’s Shoes has such a strong storyline that it makes everything else look weak by comparison. But it’s a story that needs to be kept largely under wraps so as not to spoil anything. It begins in 1970s Liverpool with a busload of kids from a children’s home on their way to see glam rockers extraordinaire, Marc Bolan’s T. Rex. One of the children on the bus, Jimmy (Isaac Lancel-Watkinson), is being bullied, but sister Sadie (Amelia Rose Smith) stands up for him. We also meet Penny (Eden Beach), the daughter of the vicar that works at the home. T. Rex fans one and all.
The kids see their glam idols, but tragedy is about to strike …. Fast forward to the present day to Marc Bolan’s shrine in greater London, located where the musician met his death in a 1977 road accident. A dishevelled man – inhabited by Timothy Spall – lovingly takes care of the shrine. It’s Jimmy, grown up, suffering from mental illness and about to encounter someone from the past…
With wondrous T.Rex music, a great sense of compassion for its characters and a strong sense of place – whether that’s London, Liverpool or the Welsh isle of Anglesey – Bolan’s Shoes captures the ‘70s vibes well in its early scenes. Spall is incredible as Jimmy – he’s perfectly cast – while Leanne Best (a Liverpudlian known for her British TV work and for being the niece of the Beatle that never was, Pete Best) is also excellent in a challenging role.
It’s a fine-looking film with an authentic feel, and giving his blessing to the T. Rex soundtrack is associate producer Rolan Bolan, son of Marc. Beautifully written and directed by stage and Coronation Street veteran thesp Ian Puleston-Davies, Bolan’s Shoes runs the emotional gamut from feelgood fun to intense drama. It’s the 64-year-old Welsh actor’s directorial debut for the big screen and he’s not taken a single misstep here.
Bolan’s Shoes takes on serious subject matter but uses music, great characters and an involving plot to weave something special.
