Pistol TV Series Review
Director: Danny Boyle
Written by: Craig Pearce
‘The following is inspired by actual events.’ So begins each episode.
The
dust has settled, everyone has watched it and formed their own
opinions. It’s been important for me to take time out to allow my own
thoughts and feelings to coalesce. The project itself has been so
divisive, driving wedges between the band that may prove impossible to
bridge. My intention is to leave all of that baggage to one side, and
give my own, honest, personal opinion of the series itself. Not one
driven by emotion. For that to happen, I’ve had to allow some time to
pass.
I’ll begin with my conclusion. ‘Pistol’ was not made for
me. I know too much. It has been made to entertain the consumers of
modern streamed media output. It’s Disney, Bambi for the 21st Century.
There lies the danger. Vast publicity, lavish red carpet premieres, alongside band and record company endorsements have
legitimised the story as portrayed in ‘Pistol’. Although the series is
based on ‘Lonely Boy’ Steve’s autobiography, it’s only in a very loose
sense, in fact the opening disclaimer could equally say ‘The following
is inspired by Lonely Boy’. I think this is a fundamental issue here.
Take episode 3, ‘Bodies’. This tale takes up just one paragraph in
Steve’s book, but clearly Craig Pearce, sensing a dramatic goldmine,
plucked it out and turned it into a 54 minute drama.
One thing
you have to learn quickly is to ignore the stuff that jars. There’s
plenty of it: it’s a production rife with historical inaccuracies from
start to finish. I won’t list them all as it would be a screenplay in
its own right; Anachronisms in the UK. If it’s a truthful time
line you are after, you are watching the wrong show. Ah, the truth,
that is a construct jettisoned willy nilly throughout ‘Pistol’ in
favour of the drama. I understand this, but felt at times I was watching a version of the Sex Pistols from an alternative
reality.
Episode one ‘The Cloak of Invisibility’ sets the
scene, and it starts promisingly enough, although I have to ask, why oh
why do so many films set in mid-70s Britain show uncollected bin bags
piled up in the streets? This didn’t happen until 1979. Moving beyond
my personal irritants, the opening episode is focused on Steve and it’s
a commendable dramatisation with some solid, convincing acting by Toby
Wallace as Steve. This is in spite of Steve’s hair being too long, and
what’s Paul got on his head? Wig? Shredded mullet? It’s odd that
despite a lot of painstaking accuracy in clothing, sets and so on, such
odd visual choices have been made.
Back to the drama.
Thievery, abuse by his step-father, and his love of music make the
transition from Steve’s book to the TV screen. The Chrissie Hynde thread woven throughout the narrative is a fantasy, but
the performance of Sydney Chandler as Chrissie is exceptional, and a
real highlight. The character grounded the story and underpinned the
surrounding chaos. Yes it was made up, but enjoyable in dramatic and
performance terms.
The juxtaposition of Steve’s home life with
that of his best mate Paul was powerful - the moment when Steve can’t
say the word ‘love’ being particularly poignant. Paul Cook, played by
Jacob Slater, is - wig apart - well served by the script but the same
can’t be said for Glen Matlock. No sooner has the character been
introduced then out come the cliches and myths, made worse by the wet
delivery by Christian Lees. Glen loves The Beatles, is a ‘ponce’,
thinks he’s better than everyone else and has a shit sense of fashion.
Poor Glen even uses a Beatles term ‘toppermost of the poppermost’, and
just in case you weren’t aware of its origin, he tells you. It’s laid
on with a trowel. Worst of all, Johnny Rotten is angling to kick him
out of the Pistols on the eve of their first gig. And was Steve really
given the job of sacking Glen, perhaps he just left? This trashing
smacks of lazy scriptwriting, singling out the obvious misfit/fall guy
to create some tension. The Sex Pistols story doesn’t need tension to
be manufactured, it’s full of it.
 Paul (Jacob Slater) , Johnny (Anson Boon), Steve (Toby Wallace), Glen (Christian Lees)
It was a brave decision to have the actors actually
performing the Pistols music themselves, as a bona fide band. This
worked. It gave the live gigs an authentic feel. A stark contrast to
the daft sequence of Thomas Brodie-Sangster miming to McLaren’s
rendition of ‘You Need Hands’.
As subsequent episodes pass,
Danny Boyle gets onto the stuff that really floats his boat - the Sex
Pistols and a sizeable chunk of squalor; Sid and Nancy, drugs, needles,
sleaze, sex, violence. Danny goes into overdrive with all his
‘Trainspotting’ favourites. With this, the series takes on a darker
tone. The latter third of ‘Pistol’ is, for all intents and purposes, a
remake of ‘Sid and Nancy’, with episode 5 imaginatively titled ‘Nancy
and Sid’. It’s intriguing to note how both productions chose to
fictionalise the Pistols River Thames boat gig, making it into a drama
around the pair. The scenes of Nancy running along the river bank
following on from her ‘kidnapping’ suggests the producer’s interest in
Steve is waning in favour of Sid, played by a smiley, non-threatening,
Louis Partridge (pictured).
 The
Pistols US tour gives more oxygen to explore Sid and his outrageous antics.
Steve is kept in mind via some drug exchanges between him and Sid
(crucially scoring smack from Sid in San Francisco). There’s no mention
of this in Steve’s book which by this stage in the narrative has been
discarded as a source for the material.
There are strong scenes
peppered throughout the latter instalments, and praise must go to a
well realised and expertly acted scene between Steve and Johnny
in San Francisco discussing the future of the Pistols, with Steve torn
between his loyalty to Malcolm and John urging him to get rid of him
so they can carry on with the band.
However, by and large, by
the time part 6, ‘Who Killed Bambi?’ arrives we are in full cartoon
mode. ‘I’m going to blow up the Pistols’, announces Malcolm. ‘I have to
destroy them!’ I half expected to see the ‘Friggin’ In The Riggin’’
cartoon sequence kick in at this point. There was a cartoon element to
the Pistols, it was crazy and mad-cap, but these dramatic proclamations
seem at odds with a serious drama - at times the words uttered by
McLaren and Vivienne Westwood (played by Talulah Riley) are too
improbable to be credible. It makes you wonder if Danny Boyle was unsure
how to pitch the series.
As a further illustration, this being
Disney, the final episode ends with a tender reconciliation between
Johnny and Steve as they reminisce about the good times. To facilitate
this short ‘feel good’ ending, Johnny has made a visit to the ‘My
Way’ set in Paris. Quite something for a quick chat. There’s also the
scene in episode 3 explaining away the Destroy T-shirt design - best protect the
Disney brand. Consequence free, excessive violence is still fine though
- Donald Duck has always embraced that.
Before
concluding my
thoughts, there’s a couple of characters to discuss. First off, Johnny
Rotten as played by Anson Boon. This was the most difficult role of
all, and he does a brilliant job. Avoiding parody and mimicry, Anson
inhabits the character with his own personality and is at times
mesmerising and unsettling. I wasn’t sure during the jukebox audition
sequence; it took a few scenes to adjust to his portrayal, but he
deserves praise for being brave enough to go all in with the character
and giving us a well rounded, intelligent Johnny Rotten, emerging as
the only one to see through all the nonsense. A unique one-off, not
quite our Johnny, but laudable.
Secondly, Malcolm McLaren as
realised by Thomas Brodie-Sangster. A lot of mannerisms are spot on and
you can see the amount of preparation that has gone into the portrayal,
but it still had a touch of the Mike Yarwood’s about it, a hint of
exaggeration. Perhaps that’s because he looks too young, younger than
Steve. His performance in court ‘representing’ Steve was akin to The
Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
This leads into
another area of concern. The script plucked much of the McLaren
dialogue from ‘The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle’ and the ‘South Bank
Show’ McLaren interview from the mid-80s. Nice quotes, but uttered
after the fact by a McLaren talking himself up as a master puppeteer. I
was surprised as it perpetuates many of the lies of the ‘Swindle’ which
have been played down over the past 40 years. When the ‘Swindle’ film
was released in 1980 we all knew it was tongue in check, it was
presented as such. ‘Pistol’ is a different beast entirely and therefore
cements the myths and falsehoods.
To conclude. I’ve read the
press reviews, and apart from a couple of dissenters, the overwhelming
response has been positive. There’s a riveting story, some outstanding
performances, including from the more minor cast. An incredible
attention to detail has gone into the sets, the clothing, and the
overall recreation of the 1970s - there’s no doubting the filmic
quality. Disney and Danny Boyle virtually guarantee artistic and
financial success. This is what worries me.
Artistic license
is part and parcel of a good drama based on true events - take ‘The Crown’ for instance -
but in ‘Pistol’ it felt endemic. It wasn’t Steve’s book adapted into a
film, now that would have been good. It was Steve’s book being used as
a gateway into the Sex Pistols. A gate opening into an alternative
reality where a different incarnation of the Sex Pistols and their story exists.
Should
this matter? I think it does. When we’ve all passed on, Disney/FX/Boyle’s
‘Pistol’ will, without doubt, become known as THE story of the band. In
the same way the escapades of the POWs at Stalag Luft III will forever
be seen through the lens of ‘The Great Escape’. People may even come to
view ‘Pistol’ just as fondly. Perhaps a Disneyland ‘Pistol’ thrill ride
is just around the corner? I’m sorry - the Sex Pistols mean too much.
‘Pistol’ just wasn’t for me.
‘The following is inspired by actual events.’ At least the disclaimer is accurate. Oh, and Steve, get yer hair cut.
Review by Phil Singleton |
©Phil
Singleton / www.sex-pistols.net 2022
All rights reserved. Not
to be
reproduced without permission.
God
Save
The Sex Pistols ©Phil Singleton
/ www.sex-pistols.net 2022
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