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Leo Gregory,
Leo Gregory,
Paddy Considine,
more...
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Stephen Woolley,
Stephen Woolley
see all cast/crew...
: MCA Home Video
: Drama, Music, Biopics
: 102 min.
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The final days of one of the truly legendary figures of British rock & roll are explored in this biographical drama, which marks the directorial debut of veteran producer Stephen Woolley. Brian Jones (played by Leo Gregory) was one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones, and his incisive blues guitar style, broad range of musical influences, and striking blond good looks helped establish him as part of the true royalty of the British music scene. But by 1969, Jones' life had begun to spiral out of control; his appetite for drugs made him wildly unreliable, his arrests for possession of marijuana prevented the Stones from touring the United States, his bandmates Mick Jagger (Luke de Woolfson) and Keith Richards (Ben Whishaw) had grown tired of working with him (and envious of the attention he received in the press), and his longtime paramour Anita Pallenberg (Monet Mazur) had become involved with fellow Stone Richards. Worried about Jones' drug abuse, the band's tour manager, Tom Keylock (David Morrissey), hires middle-aged carpenter Frank Thorogood (Paddy Considine) to do some repairs at Jones' estate, but also asks him to look after the musician and try to keep him away from dope. Keylock underestimates the power of Brian's personality, and before long, the straight-arrow Thorogood is Jones' household manservant and partner in hedonism, through Thorogood begins to chafe at the emotional games Jones enjoys playing with his new companion. Stoned was adapted in part from three different books on Brian Jones and the Rolling Stones as well as recently uncovered interviews with people who claim to have been involved in Brian Jones' death. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| By way of explanation...
by Vanamonde
September 19, 2009 - 8:00 AM PDT
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"but far more gratuitous male appendages than I felt the movie really needed." says the previous reviewer. These were very homophobic times - very few people in rock'n'roll were out. Brian was the odd man left behind from "The Glimmer Twins" - in the beginning, he and Mick shared a flat. I am so sure that his heart was broken by Mick and then when Keith took his girlfriend, the Downward Spiral was on it's way.
They are all bisexual, dude. Of course, back then we never spoke of such things except in hushed tones and in San Francisco. |
| A Decent Re-Enactment
by notrust
November 19, 2006 - 12:15 PM PST
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1 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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Pretty good character development for the two leads, who play Brian Jones (Rolling Stones "founder") and his live-in handyman Frank who is sent by Jones' manager to try to straighten him out and keep an eye on him after Jones falls out with the band. This is partially the result of drug arrests that prevent Jones from entering the US when the Stones go on tour there, and the lack of interest on the part of Jones in writing songs and rehearsing with the rest of the band.
Frank, is an unsophisticated working class Brit with simple tastes, while Brian Jones seems to come from a wealthy and educated family. Much of the tension between the characters comes from these class differences and class envy, which were largely lost on me, not having grown up in the British social caste system. As the 2 get to know each other better, Frank begins to try to imitate Brian Jones (similar to "The Matador").
There was far less drug use than I expected (most of it seen in flashbacks), but far more gratuitous male appendages than I felt the movie really needed. I would have enjoyed hearing the director's explanation for all that, but there is no commentary
Overall, the movie has the feel of a "E" Entertainment Channel True Hollywood story re-enactment of the 1960's. Never did I get much of a sense of the times, other than from the clothes and the 1960's soundtrack.
What the movie is missing is any real story, other than the tension between the 2 leads. The movie really went nowhere, and none of the minor subplots were very interesting. I would classify the film as "a re-enactment of events leading up to the death of Brian Jones" and that's about it. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 5.31)
13 Votes
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