The mid-1960's, England. Surly middle-class teenage malcontent Jimmy (superbly played with bracing intensity by Phil Daniels) can't get no satisfaction from either at home or at work. Desperate to fit in somewhere, Jimmy falls in with the mod youth subculture only to find himself at loggerheads with his own friends and the rival rocker gang. Director Franc Roddam, who also co-wrote the biting script with Dave Humphries and Martin Stellman, not only offers a flavorsome evocation of the 1960's time period, but also astutely captures a strong sense of adolescent angst, alienation, and disillusionment. Better still, this film acquires extra potency and resonance because of its harshly realistic and unsentimental tone complete with a mixed-up protagonist who's more interesting than sympathetic, a grim central message on how misapplied rebellion can lead to isolation rather than liberation, and a devastating gut punch of a downbeat ending in which Jimmy learns a painful lesson about how self-discovery can't be acquired by simply glomming onto the latest teen trend that's fashionable at the moment. Leslie Ash contributes an appealing turn as the lovely and sassy, yet ultimately unattainable Steph, Sting makes a striking impression as the charismatic Ace Face, and Ray Winstone acquits himself well as the scruffy Kevin. Brian Tufano's stunning cinematography boasts some exciting use of hand-held cameras and offers plenty of breathtaking visuals. Further galvanized by a first-rate rock soundtrack, this is pretty much where it's at.

It's 60's London. Jimmy hates his working class life. He hates living under his parents. He hates his boring job. He parties with his Mod friends. They ride their scooters, take drugs, listen to music, and fight their rival Rockers. Ace Face (Sting) is a respected leader of the Mods.I don't like Jimmy much although he has the right sense of bitter anger of youth. He's self-obsessed, entitled, reckless, and careless emotions. It's a hard character to like but one that fits the time and place. His journey meanders around. The only recognizable face is Sting and I wish the movie has more of him. That would also make the final reveal much more compelling. The music from The Who is a bit before my time and it holds no appeal to me. While much of this may not be to my liking, there is an energy and a sense of youthful urgency with this movie.

Quadrophenia is definitely one of the essential British films. If you want to get into British films this is definitely at the top of the list with films like Get Carter, A Hard Day's Night, Alfie and Trainspotting.The film is based off the iconic 1973 album of the same name by The Who. Both the album or (or rock opera as a lot of people call it) and the film are both fantastic in there own ways. The film throws you into an iconic era. London in the early 1960's to be exact. It puts us in the middle of the Mod movement through the character of Jimmy. A disgruntled young adult who wants to be somebody, hence why he's a mod. This includes popping pills like they are tic tacs, fighting the Rockers (The opposing group to the Mods), having sex, swearing like there is no tomorrow and trying to fit in. To briefly finish as if you haven't seen this film you should really watch it. Here is 3 reasons why you should watch Quadrophenia. 1. The direction and cinematography. Frank Roddam who directed documentaries before this film came out was the perfect choice. The film has a social realist/documentary style yet it still looks stylistic to an extent. The lenses used gives the lighting in night scenes a beautiful look. 2. The cast. Full of British actors we all know and love. Phil Daniels. Who plays the anti-hero Jimmy. Then there is Phillip Davies, Lesley Ash, Mark Wingett, Toyah Wilcox, Ray Winstone and even singer Sting. The cast is huge and diverse. That alone warrants a watch. 3. The soundtrack. As I said the album is fantastic and It is great that the majority of songs are in the film. It adds the rock edge to the film. And there are some nice additions of songs like Be my Baby etc. Even there is a use of My Generation in a digetic fashion which doesn't make sense as the film is set in 1964 it doesn't take me out of the film. So if you have not seen Quadrophenia watch it. It deserves much higher then a 7.3. And it deserves to be seen by everyone.

"Quadrophenia" is a movie that is based in part on the album of the same name by The Who. It also was co-written by Pete Townshend and some of the executive producers included the four members of the band. It's set in the early-mid 1960s in England and concerns Jimmy and his group of 'Mod' friends. The Mods were well before my time but apparently they liked to dress stylishly, drive mopeds and tended towards R&B instead of popular rock 'n roll. Also, the Mods in this film are mostly angry, directionless and seem in many ways like precursors to the punks of the 1970s--though with a much greater fashion sense. Plus, I really cannot imagine punks riding around in motor scooters. But, they both seemed to share a love of violence, drugs and anger.As far as the plot goes, the film is much like the Mods--rather directionless. This isn't a complaint and the film deliberately chose to show the lack of structure and anger of the Mods. For the most part, these teens drink, fight, take amphetamines, listen to music and stay up all night. Jimmy seems to be among the angriest and most likely to get himself killed. Later in the film, Jimmy and his blokes head to Brighton for a holiday and mayhem ensues. Exactly what happens, you'll need to see for yourself.As I said above, how much you like the film will depend a lot on you. If you grew up at the same time and place as these hooligans, then perhaps you'll have a feeling of nostalgia watching it. As for me, although the film was well made, it was also unpleasant and I got a bit tired of all the pointlessly angry and disaffected youth. It just wasn't my thing and it's hard to love a film where you cannot stand any of the characters.A few final observations: I don't think it was unintentional that the leading man, Jimmy, sure looked quite a bit like Townshend. The film sure could have used captions. I saw it on HULU and had to really pay attention to get what they were saying due to the accents. There's also a bit of male frontal nudity--though considering all the violence and anger, I doubt if it's a film you'd show your mom or your kids! Also, the music was very nice--the best part of the film, really.