Film Reviews

Stoned

• Rating:
• Director: Stephen Woolley
• Starring: Leo Gregory
• Details: UK, 102 mins, 18s.

Stoned is the story of ill-fated Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones (Gregory) during his last days with builder/housekeeper Frank Thorogood (Considine) in his remote mansion in Sussex. The events leading up to his demise are told in flashback as the story follows a young Jones through his first meeting with Jagger and Richards to his halcyon days with Anita Pallenberg and onto the slow disintegration of his mind and music career. A biopic of legendary Stones guitarist will be greeted with feverish glee by fans but Stoned is an upper that never kicks in. The story presumes that more than an adequate knowledge of the band is a given but, although it will be mostly Stones fans watching, any moviemaker worth their salt should ensure their film stands on its own two legs. Stoned doesn't, however, as director Woolley glosses over the tortured soul of a man who had everything but couldn't get it together to realise his full potential and gives too much screen time to Jones' housekeeper Thorogood. Gregory does his best to portray the inner demons wrestling inside Jones' mind but he is let down by a director who can't decide whose story this is - Brian Jones' or Frank Thorogood's. The rest of the band are given only a brief outing and the climactic scene where Jones gets sacked from the band he started feels rushed. Stoned cries out for Richards-esque killer riff or a Jagger cock-sure strut but this just goes to show you can't always get what you want.

Review by Gavin Burke