qualified but not certified

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Killing Bono

Dir. Nick Hamm
Starring. Ben Barnes, Robert Sheehan, Pete Postlethwaite

Talk about a winning title. I mean, that's all the marketing you need, really. Who's going to go see something called 'Source Code,' which sounds like a computer programming movie about the invention of binary code, when they could see something that promises the attempted murder of the worlds most self satisfied rock star. Brilliant.

In actuality 'Killing Bono' isn't about a calculated assassination attempt on Bono as one might hope/suspect. It is a film based loosely on the true story of the McCormick brothers, Bono's schoolmates, who started a band around the same time he did and struggled endlessly to find success while U2 swiftly rose to fame and fortune. Older brother Neil (Ben Barnes) is the frontman and maker of the bands decisions (almost always bad ones) and guitar playing younger brother Ivan (Robert Sheehan) is left to face the consequences and lament on missed opportunities.

Killing Bono is often silly, occasionally funny, mostly ridiculous, but all around fun, exactly as a good hearted Rock 'n' Roll film ought to be. It doesn't miss a beat, as the McCormick brothers are constantly trying to catch a break, failing miserably, then getting back up and trying again. Their story reminds me a bit of Anvil! but somehow much less heartbreaking.

My only complaint of this film is that I found it hard to believe that anybody who truly wanted to succeed at something could manage to make literally all of the wrong decisions in their journey of trying to achieve it. Neil is a difficult protagonist to get behind because we know every time a good opportunity is about to come up, he will inevitably blow it, usually because of his wounded pride and jealousy over Bono's success and his own failure. Luckily the talented Sheehan makes Ivan a worthy antidote to Neil's frustrating stupidity and stubbornness. Also Martin McCann is so charming and winsome as the eponymous rock star, it almost made me like the real Bono, consequently. I said almost.

But possibly the star of the film is the stylist. It's truly a hilarious history lesson in Rock fashion as the McCormick brothers desperately and whole heartedly buy into every trend and movement the rock genre has gone through. One scene they are dressed punk, the next Glam rock, then heavy metal. Before you know it Ivan is donning a curly mullet and a trench coat. I don't even know what genre that fits into, but it was awesome. It is in this identity crisis that one can try and find a bit of a message in the film. Maybe they didn't succeed because instead of creating their own identity they tried to mimic whatever trend was the success at the time...so without confidence in yourself and your own image, you won't succeed...or something like that.

Don't think too hard about it because this film is just meant to be enjoyed and unlike its two main characters, it knows exactly what it is, and strongly succeeds in being it.

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