Alex Cox

This oldie had been on my wishlist for a long time, but every time I was at the rental I did not think of it. It could well be the first ‘music film’ and of course tells the story of Sid Vicious, bass player of the Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend. What you get it a rather depressing film about two junkies. The first half of the film is about the time of the rise of the Sex Pistols, in the second part Vicious tries to use his fame to continue by himself, but he just slides away in the mud further and further. There is not all that much music, the punk scene is portrayed as formed by outright idiots (but the audience in the USA is even funnier) and mostly the film follows Sid and Nancy (of course). I am unsure if the film is supposed to be realistic or ironic, especially in scenes where little kids each hit and kick cars so that a magnifying glass is put on the period, but overall the film and the characters seem pretty much over the top to me. Maybe it would have been more interesting to see a film about Johnny Rotten or more about the band than just two destructive characters around it. “Sid and Nancy” is not a bad or boring film, but I probably expected a bit more of it.