Killing Bono – FILM [dir. Nick Hamm]
3/5
By: Tim Dellow
Now, I’m a pacifist, but I’m a little disappointed that with such a promising title this picture was not a remake of A Serbian Film augmented by the nastiest traps from the Saw franchise, somehow utilizing (or perhaps inserting) the giant lemon from the Pop Tour and, inevitably, the key figure of hate in modern music: Bono.
I’m no hater for the hell of it (really, stick with me on this); I’ve a lot of time for the rock giants of our time; Radiohead continue to give me a great deal of pleasure, R.E.M. had perhaps the most consistent 10-album run in the history of popular music and, f*ck it, when drunk I’ve even got a soft spot for stadium drearium such as Bon Jovi. But there’s something so earnest, so arrogant, so flatulent about Bono and his crones that has always made me run from their epic catalogue.
The film however revealed to me a number of things.
Firstly, by providing a vague perception of where that rock monolith came from, the film provides a humanizing and empathizing perspective, perhaps revealing that U2 are not that different from many of the bands I love, or even work with. They sought to escape through fantasy, dogged opportunism and hard work a bland existence in order to connect with a large number of people that could empathize with these white-collar dreamers.
The film also revealed to me that a larger dickhead than Bono exists: Neil McCormick.
This character is such an irredeemably selfish, bloody-minded imbecile that it’s very hard to even follow him through this journey as a lead character. There is no lesson learned, no development, simply a string of arrogant bad choices that leave very little room for sympathy or, sadly interest in what happens to this misguided fool. And the punishment of this tragically flawed character? Having prevented his own brother from taking his rightful place in U2, he ended up as the key music writer for The Telegraph, eventually marrying the woman who he was fantastically unfaithful to, whilst his brother makes a living as a wedding singer.
Knowledge of these spoilers however, should not detract from one’s enjoyment of the film as a piece; well researched period costumes, some brilliant performances from Peter Serafinowicz as your typical coke-chomping 80’s A+R man (for more of this ridiculous stock character read Kill Your Friends) and a poignant last turn from Pete Postlethwaite who, as a gloriously theatrical old queen steals the show and provides both its most poignant line and the heart that the film so dearly longs for.
The film’s pacing drags a little, largely due to the lack of development in the lead character, but also partially down to the ever difficult prospect of translating the sweat and drive of a perfect live band performance onto the silver screen. However, principally as a comedy it is successful; the lead performances are strong and the laughs are frequent and, if only as a warning to this generation of X-Factor hopefuls, it’s educational and often compelling viewing.
- For more info, visit killingbono.co.uk and killingbonoblog.com, the latter including some live performances from the show. View the trailer below.
Artists in this article: U2
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