| Bilgi : Chronicling the fall and further fall of Brian Jones, whose unquenchable thirst for hedonism contributed to his professional and personal demise, ending with his drowning in his own pool at the age of 27, the film dishes oodles of sex and drugs but skimps on the rock 'n' roll.
The upshot is tedious rather than titillating, and although the picture offers up an eleventh hour revelation regarding the circumstances surrounding Jones death, most viewers will likely be sufficiently underwhelmed to care by the time it arrives.
Although there's a considerable number of Jones fans who have been waiting impatiently for a big screen treatment, they'll get no satisfaction here.
Marking the directorial debut of Stephen Woolley, a veteran producer who has a long association with Neil Jordan, the story, penned by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade ("Die Another Day"), picks up on Jones' life when it's already well into downward spiral mode.
Preferring to take refuge in his East Sussex country retreat (the former home of "Winnie the Pooh" author AA Milne) over showing up for band practice, it's only a matter of time before Jones, played with an economy of complexity by Leo Gregory, gets sacked from the group.
Meanwhile, he occupies his days and nights in a drug-fueled perma-haze, getting it on with Anita Pallenberg (Monet Mazur) and Anna Wohlin (Tuva Novotny), among numerous others.
One day, during a fleeting moment of clarity, Brian decides to embark on some home improvements, and on the advice of his road manager, Tom Keylock (a Michael Caine-inflected David Morrissey) he hires builder Frank Thorogood (Paddy Considine) to carry out the work.
In short order Thorogood also becomes Jones' unofficial lackey, a role which is accompanied by increasing feelings of resentment and jealousy that will inevitably reach a boiling point.
The movie could have been called "Me and Mr. Jones" had that tricky relationship been a more focused element, but too often during "Stoned" it feels like Woolley, who has wanted to tell Jones story for more than a decade, isn't quite sure exactly what story he wants to tell.
As a result, the film, like its subject, keeps staggering around, listlessly repeating its actions.
Visually-speaking, "Stoned" does a fine job in recreating the era with sturdy contributions from director of photography John Mathieson ("Gladiator") and production designer John Beard ("The Skeleton Key") and, especially costume designer Roger Burton, who had practice with such music-related period pieces as "Absolute Beginners" and "Sid and Nancy." |