Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn direct Richard Dormer, Jodie Whittaker and Adrian Dunbar in this Northern Irish biopic of Terri Hooley – a non-partisan record shop owner in Belfast who championed punk as an alternative to civil war.

I’d heard good things about this but always misread and prejudged it as a bit preachy. I was wrong. Has a really nice energy to it, a mordant sense of humour and, in the first half, some nifty magical realist flights of fantasy. The excitement and seduction of getting lost in a gig is captured wonderfully a few times. Not many other movies take the time to get that right. Terri Hooley was probably a bit of a prat to work and live with in real life, this biopic all but comes out and says as much, but Richard Dormer delivers a fine, if rare, lead powerhouse of a role. This should’ve made him a star. Obviously the soundtrack is fantastic and Jodie Whittaker also works great on the big screen… now, post Dr Who, the world must be her oyster, surely? There’s a lot to praise here.

7

Perfect Double Bill: High Fidelity (2000)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/