Powder Review

Powder
Lead singer of indie upstarts The Grams, Keva (Boyle) struggles with the demands of his new-found success. The band's hopeless manager Wheezer (Allen) isn't helping.

by Eve Barlow |
Published on
Release Date:

26 Aug 2011

Running Time:

104 minutes

Certificate:

15

Original Title:

Powder

A dark British comedy about a band breaking into the music industry surely centres on Human Traffic-style sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll? Not Powder. It has more sober plans for Northern indie boys The Grams (soundtracked by ’oos miserablists Starsailor), whose song is stolen by a talentless wannabe reminiscent of Mika. No wonder tortured songwriter Keva (Liam Boyle) is so overwrought he breaks news of a record deal with the same enthusiasm as you announce the start of Corrie. Alfie Allen’s useless Kevin & Perry-esque manager gets the laughs, while Ralf Little’s Ibiza-dwelling Rasta is a revelation. But the staggered mood of this adaptation makes it hard to know whether first-time director Mark Elliott wants us to laugh or cry.

Some solid scenes but it's never quite sure if it's 24 Hour Party People or Control, and doesn't get close to either.
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