“When it comes to punk:, New York has the haircuts, London has the treasures, but Belfast has the reason, ” Terri Hooley remarks in Good Vibrations, the latest film from Lisa Barros D’sa and Glenn Leyburn (Cherrybomb). The true story chronicles the life of Hooley (played by Richard Dormer), a record shop owner who decides to start a label to give voice to the unrest in Northern Ireland.
Good Vibrations is a spirited and impressive docudrama, a crowd pleaser that premiered last year at the Belfast Film Festival. Hooley operated Good Vibrations on Great Victoria Street, in the middle of a war zone. Originally his mission was to sell records until a boy comes in looking for the latest punk from London. Hooley finds salvation in a small club, telling off a cop for hassling a young woman for her ID while a bloody civil was is brewing outside.
Hooley eventually takes a major risk, channeling the angst of a civil war and giving voice to a generation. It’s essentially not the best business plan and eventually consumes his life (including his marriage to Ruth, played by Jodie Whittaker). The film is a somewhat uneven portrait, driven by politics above all, while providing the soundtrack for a counter revolution. Smart in its construction, the film splices found footage within the gritty rough style of its narrative. It’s not nostalgic, rather it exists in the here and now.
Early on, the film uses voice over to fill in Hooley’s past: he’s an oddball, alienating the more straight edge friends of his wife, while he’s persecuted by street thugs in a conflict that’s confusing mostly to him. Opening the record store in the early 1970s (despite those that think he’s nuts) is an act of defiance, but perhaps his ambitions are peace. He comes around to embracing punk ethos (we learn early on without knowing it that he’s a bit of punk, but now its blossoming). Good Vibrations eventually takes off and garners national prominence as a record label.
Watching him balance the spirit with a family and other responsibilities is a bit like another SXSW film two years ago, The Other F-Word, about punk rock dads entering their late 30’s and the decisions they make (thanks to the changing record industry). Here the evolution is backward – a straight edge guy is forced to become punk and so Good Vibrations hobbles on, opening, closing and reopening several times over the past few years and it’s currently still operating.
Good Vibrations is an impressive and energetic biopic, harnessing the energy of the time. Effective in its direction with a strong performance by Dormer, here’s a film sure to have a festival life. Hopefully it’s embraced by the kinds of kids it hopes to inspire, those who want to change the world through art.