Title: The Boat That Rocked
Starring: The brilliant ensemble cast of Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans, Emma Thompson, Chris O’Dowd, Katherine Parkinson, Nick Frost, and many, many more.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyXu0mC38SE?rel=0]
Synopsis: Anything written and directed by Richard Curtis is destined to be wonderful. Set in 1966, The Boat That Rocked follows the eccentric endeavours of a boatload of rock & roll DJs, who run a pirate radio station. The angry government ministers are not happy with the free and joyful ways of the Swinging Sixties, with “the drug-takers, and the law-breakers, and the bottom-bashing fornicators,” so they try to shut Radio Rock down. Including one of the best movie soundtracks ever, the first ‘F word’ to be uttered on radio, and a man called Mr Twatt, The Boat That Rocked is heart-warming, hilarious, and the epitome of a must-see film. Plus, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s speech about music towards the end is unbelievably powerful and so moving.
Watch if you liked: Anything by Richard Curtis, or any film. You will love The Boat That Rocked. Probably. (You will).
Rating: 9/10 (only because it’s not entirely historically accurate, but that’s just me being picky/boring).
Words by Caitlin O’Connor