Movie Review by Toby White
Starring: Dawn Steele, Frank Harper, Brad Gorton, Danny Nussbaum, Tania Emery
Director: Simon Rumley
Simon Rumley’s final instalment of his film trilogy about youth culture at the end of the last millennium, following at the heels of STRONG LANGUAGE (the social comment part) and THE TRUTH GAME (relationships) this time concentrates on club culture. A night in the life of a club in London’s West End is the backdrop to a very perceptive insight into the characters and their goings-on that one might find in such an establishment.
The film’s spine is a moving if, at times, somewhat tenuous love story where a recently split couple bump into each other, clash in the club and conclude the film with reconciliation. But the story isn’t the forte in Rumley’s film. And it shouldn’t be. Where CLUB LE MONDE stands out is in its spot-on characterisation and the acerbic and, at times, hilarious dialogue. From E’d-up Mr Sunglasses to the coke-snorting girls who never leave the ladies’ loo, from the under-aged public schoolboys to the sudden appearance of the drag queens, from the bumptious bouncer to the dodgy manager, the characters criss-cross through the action to a soundtrack that will send your neural pathways pulsing at the memories of a cracking night out.
Technically, the film is lacking. The camera-work is clumsy, the cinematography simplistic but, given the film’s micro-budget, none of these makes it suffer. In fact they’re complimentary, giving it a raw, edgy fascia that you’d feel if you were in Club Le Monde yourself. Moreover, the script, with all its unhampered un-PC relish is testament to Rumley’s ability to capture characters. You get the feeling that the cast just couldn’t wait to get stuck into this.
The tag line on the poster reads: “If you can remember it, you weren’t there.” How very true. If you’ve ever been clubbing in London go and see this reminder of your youth. And if you haven’t, go and see what you missed.
