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Absolute BeginnersEddie O'Connel plays young photographer Colin, intent on pursuing 'it girl' Crepe Suzette (Patsy Kensit) in this 1980s musical version of Colin MacInnes' cult novel about soho bohos, coffee-bar chic and simmering racial tension in 1950s London.
Suzette's relationships are strictly connected with her progress in the fashion world. So Colin gets involved with a dodgy pop promoter and tries to crack the big time. Meanwhile, racial tension is fermenting in Colin's Notting Hill housing estate. The film got mixed reviews on its release, and was criticised for being an "overlong pop promo" from ex video (and The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle) director Temple - but this is unfair. It is full of energy and camp humour, with diverting, energetic performances from some stellar names: David Bowie, Ray Davies and Robbie Coltrane. Temple was obviously never interested in gritty realism. The film transforms MacInnes' dark, stark world into a homage to 1950s musical kitsch like Expresso Bongo - and as a similar piece of lightweight, sugar-coated entertainment Absolute Beginners is eminently watchable.
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