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The title "The Alcohol Years" led me to believe it would be a therapy-style documentary, full of interviews with the central subject, and the story from their viewpoint, with perhaps an update on how things have developed in the years since - you know, is she a "recovering alcoholic", is ... Read review
The Alcohol YearsCarol Morley returns to Manchester, where in the early 1980s, five years ... more
of her life were lost in an alcoholic blur. The Alcohol Years is a poetic retrieval of that time, in which rediscovered friends and acquaintances recount tales of...
In THE ALCOHOL YEARS, director Carol Morley retraces her misspent youth growing up in ... more
1980s Manchester. Through recollections of old friends and acquaintances, a startling picture emerges of Morley's former hedonistic ways and the cultural landscape of the time. But amidst all the nostalgia, Morley finds humour and heartbreak as she searches for the missing pieces to her puzzle.
Set in Edinburgh in three distinct periods in the life of Frankie Mac, 16 Years of Alcohol ... more
provides a challenging introduction to a man's belief in the meaning of hope.As a young boy Frankie Mac (Kevin McKidd - Trainspotting) watches the world around him drench itself in alcohol. His father, who has always been an iconic figure to Frankie, is seen for the first time as a philandering liar.In his teenage years, Frankie leads a gang. They thrive on music, clothes and violence. A chance meeting with a young woman, Helen, introduces Frankie to a whole range of possibilities. He distances himself from the gang, which turns them against him, creating a fatal enemy in the shape of former gang member Miller. As his life starts to take a wrong turn, he falls back into the familiar pattern of violence and alcohol.As a man, Frankie finds new focus through group meetings and his role as an actor. He meets a new woman, Mary, who shows him how to be open and honest. A real sense of what his life could be begins to surface. But the shadow of the past is never far behind him and threatens once again to tear his life apart.
Advantages: Some insight into Manchester music scene Disadvantages: Not much insight into alcoholic haze of central character
...being more famous as being the younger sister of Paul Morley, the music critic. Or she could have, before the release of this DVD.
<< What is it about? >>
A collection of personal accounts and snippets of interviews, with the life of Carol Morley, as lived in the early 80s in Manchester, as the sole subject. Her advertisement in the personal columns ran as follows - "Carol Morley. Film project. Please contact ... ...here's the result.
She herself appears hardly at all - the longest sequence of her consists of footage of her tongue (erm, is "footage" really the correct word - "tongueage" perhaps?)
Morley herself would say the film is more about the city of Manchester at that time, than it is about her. It is true that you could view it as a documentary about Manchester, but it would be a very half-hearted one, ... more
Carol Morley isn't, so far anyway, a hugely prolific film maker. She could even be viewed as being more famous as being the younger sister of Paul Morley, the music critic. Or she could have, before the release of this DVD.
<< What is it about? >> A collection of personal accounts and snippets of interviews, with the life of Carol Morley, as lived in the early 80s in Manchester, as the sole subject. Her advertisement in the personal columns ran as follows - "Carol Morley. Film project. Please contact me if you knew me between 1982 - 1987". And here's the result.
She herself appears hardly at all - the longest sequence of her consists of footage of her tongue (erm, is "footage" really the correct word - "tongueage" perhaps?)
Morley herself would say the film is more about the city of Manchester at that time, than it is about her. It is true that you could view it as a documentary about Manchester, but it would be a very half-hearted one, and a very narrowly focussed one. Most of the participants are related to the Manchester music scene - so Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks), Vinni Reilly (Dirutti Column) feature, as well as Hacienda staff (including, briefly, Tony Wilson), and just general liggers on the scene. All are shown talking to Morley (who stays resolutley behind the camera, and we don't hear her asking any questions or responding to anything they say.
Morley's drunken and sexual escapades, from age 16 to 21, are discussed. All the interviewees were "acquaintances" of hers - and all have strong opinions about her behaviour at the time. It's brutally honest - some of them were very judgemental about her, and it sounds like she never had many real friends, and many of them make no secret of their low opinion of her. The title "The Alcohol Years" led me to believe it would be a therapy-style documentary, full of interviews with the central subject, and the story from their viewpoint, with perhaps an update on how things have developed in the years since - you know, is she a "recovering alcoholic", is she holding down steady jobs? It's nothing like that at all.
<< Is it any good? >> My immediate answer is no. No, no it's not any good. That was definitely my first reaction. I'll qualify that - you will probably enjoy the movie if - a) you were around the Manchester music scene and the Hacienda in the early 80s. It'll bring back memories for you, and it probably features people you'll recognise on a personal level. b) you are interested in Manchester, or in the music
But, then I heard the DVD's commentary. It is far more informative and revealing than most commentaries - ironically in some ways as Morley makes no bones about how the film should stand on its own, how she never wanted to do a commentary at all, and so on. But, in my opinion, without hearing the commentary the film is not much more than a meandering trip around the former hunting ground of a film student - in fact, the kind of film that is made using some kind of arts grant, and annoys everyone for the waste of money. In the commentary, Morley explains a lot more about all the people featured (in the film we don't even get subtitles informing us who everyone is), the locations and so on. So my advice is - just watch the film with the commentary, you'll find it a lot more interesting. Still not brilliant, but worth a watch, if your into arty films.
The film is 50 minutes long
<< Availability >> The DVD is £12.99 (amazon.co.uk) or £11.99 on moviemail-online.co.uk
<< What's the main reason to see this movie? >> The commentary. The extra short films which are also on the DVD…
<< DVD extras? >> Two additional short films are included -
"Everyday something" - 14 minutes I really enjoyed this, a John Peel narration, offbeat storytelling of offbeat stories, based on actual newspaper stories. "Stalin my neighbour" - 15 minutes
Alicia Eyo (from "Bad girls") plays a girl who is being challenged by her interviewer about dark events in her childhood, and all she can do is evade the questions by talking about the history of the London places near her home.
Both films are worth seeing, and probably more rewarding than the "Alcohol years".
Of all the memoirs and mythmaps that have been generated by Manchester's music scene, few could be as raw as Carol Morely's wretchedly poignant film documentary. (Dazed And Confused, )
In THE ALCOHOL YEARS, director Carol Morley retraces her misspent youth growing up in 1980s Manchester. Through recollections of old friends and acquaintances, a startling picture emerges of Morley's former hedonistic ways and the cultural landscape of the time. But amidst all the nostalgia, Morley finds humour and heartbreak as she searches for the missing pieces to her puzzle.
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