''Good Vibrations'' is a 2013 British and Irish comedy-drama film written by Colin Carberry and

Glenn Patterson Glenn Patterson (born 1961) is a writer from Belfast, best known as a novelist. Biography Patterson was born in Belfast where he attended Methodist College Belfast. He graduated from the University of East Anglia (BA, MA), where he was a produc ...

and directed by

Lisa Barros D'Sa Lisa Barros D'Sa is a film director, writer and producer. Barros D'Sa studied English at University of Oxford and holds an MA in Screenwriting from London University of the Arts. Born in Belfast, she is best known for co-directing and producin ...

and Glenn Leyburn. It stars

Richard Dormer Richard Dormer (born 11 November 1969) is an actor, playwright and screenwriter from Northern Ireland. He is best known for his roles as Beric Dondarrion in the HBO television series ''Game of Thrones'' and Dan Anderssen in Sky Atlantic's ...

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress who is best known for portraying the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022) and as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017). She came to prominence ...

Adrian Dunbar Adrian Dunbar (born 1 August 1958) is a Northern Irish actor, director and singer, known for his television and his theatre work. Dunbar co-wrote and starred in the 1991 film '' Hear My Song'', nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the BA ...

Liam Cunningham Liam Cunningham (born 2 June 1961) is an Irish actor. He is known for playing Davos Seaworth in the HBO epic-fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''. Cunningham has been nominated for the London Film Critics' Circle Award, the British Independent ...

, Karl Johnson and

Dylan Moran Dylan William Moran ( ; born 3 November 1971) is an Irish comedian, writer, actor, artist and poet. He is best known for his observational comedy, the comedy series ''Black Books'' (which he co-wrote and starred in), and his work with Simon Pe ...

. It is based on the life of

Terri Hooley Terence Wilfred "Terri" Hooley (born 23 December 1948) is a prominent figure in the Belfast punk scene and founder of the Good Vibrations record shop and label, responsible for bands such as The Undertones, Rudi, Protex and The Outcasts making ...

, a record-store owner instrumental in developing

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

's punk rock scene. The film was produced by Chris Martin, with

Andrew Eaton Andrew Campbell Eaton (born 7 December 1959) is a film and television producer. He was educated at Campbell College and Churchill College, graduating with a BA in 1982. In 1994, he co-founded Revolution Films Revolution Films is a British ...

, Bruno Charlesworth and David Holmes. Holmes also co-wrote the soundtrack score.

Plot

In 1970s sectarian Belfast in the midst of

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

(

Dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable space ...

) is a DJ who opens a record shop "on the most bombed half-mile in Europe". He is a music-lover, idealist, radical and rebel. He is inspired by the new underground punk scene and in turn galvanises the young musicians, branching out into record production and bringing life to the city.

Cast

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...

* Michael Colgan as Dave Hyndman * Karl Johnson as George Hooley *

as Gang Leader *

as Studio Engineer *

as Harp Owner *

Mark Ryder Mark Ryder (born December 7, 1989) is an actor from Northern Ireland who was educated at Methodist College Belfast God with us , established = 1865 , type = Voluntary grammar , religion = Interdenominational , pr ...

as Greg Cowen *

Killian Scott Cillian Damien Murphy (born 6 July 1985) is an Irish actor, better known professionally as Killian Scott. He first came to prominence for his role as Tommy in the RTÉ One series '' Love/Hate''. Early life The youngest of six children, Scott g ...

as Ronnie Matthews * Phillip Taggart as Gordon Blair *

Diarmuid Noyes Diarmuid Noyes (born 14 January 1988) is an Irish theatre, TV, commercial and film actor, known for his role in the 2011 American science fiction horror telefilm, '' Roadkill''. At fourteen he starred in the 2002 award-winning Irish short fi ...

as Brian Young * Andrew Simpson as Colin "Getty" Getgood * Ryan McParland as Fangs * Kerr Logan as

Feargal Sharkey Seán Feargal Sharkey (born 13 August 1958) is a singer from Northern Ireland most widely known as the lead vocalist of punk band The Undertones in the 1970s and 1980s, and for solo works in the 1980s and 1990s. His 1985 solo single "A Good ...

Demetri Goritsas Demetri Goritsas is an American actor of Greek and Norwegian descent. He is best known for his roles as Ethan in the Sky One television series ''Baddiel's Syndrome'' and Max Cain in the psychological thriller television series '' Modus''. He ...

as Paul McNally *

Chris Patrick-Simpson Chris Patrick-Simpson is a Northern Irish actor. Patrick-Simpson is best known for his role as Brendan in the film ''The Magdalene Sisters''. He has also appeared in the film ''The Boxer'', the TV Drama '' The Clinic'' and ''Fifty Dead Men Wal ...

as Wolfgang Zorrer * James Tolcher as Gang Member * Paul Caddell as Ned * John Travers as Mutt *

Niall Wright Niall Wright (born 26 July 1991) is an actor born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He trained as a child at the Gwyneth Murdock School of Drama and studied professionally at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He also studied a business degree at U ...

as Mickey Bradley * Una Carroll as Mrs Sharkey (as Una Caryll) * Dorian Dixon as Sazafrazz Bods * Mark Asante as Soldier * Niketa Ferguson as Beautiful German Girl * Robert Render as Roaring Executive * Mary Lindsay as Marilyn * Steven Donnelly as Rural Punker * Emma Ryan as Girl * Joseph Donnelly as Rural Hall Manager

Release

''Good Vibrations'' was released on 29 March 2013, following showings at various film festivals.

Reception

'' Q'' magazine rated the film 5/5, while ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' and '' Time Out'' all gave extremely favourable 4/5 reviews, with much praise for Dormer's performance as Hooley. ''Observer'' film critic

Mark Kermode Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', prese ...

described the film as "an absolute humdinger with real heart and soul" and later described how he was twice moved to tears watching it. Kermode subsequently named it the best film of 2013. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an approval rating of 94% based on reviews from 36 critics with an average rating of 6.9/10.

Accolades

The film was the winner of both the Galway Film Fleadh Audience Award and The Belfast Film Festival Audience Award and was nominated for three Irish Film and Television Awards including Best Film, Best Actor for Richard Dormer, and Costume for Maggie Donnelly, winning Best Costume. The film received the award for best script at the 2012 Dinard Festival. The screenplay of ''Good Vibrations'' received a BAFTA nomination.

Music

Much of the music is provided by bands released by the

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record ...

label, such as "Big Time", "I Spy" and "The Pressure's On" by

Rudi Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spiri ...

, "Self Conscious Over You", "Justa Nother Teenage Rebel" and "You're A Disease" by The Outcasts and "

Teenage Kicks "Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by the band's principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially released that September on independent Be ...

" by

The Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradle ...

, as well as

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the De ...

, another Northern Irish punk band around at the same time but not released by the label. The soundtrack also includes songs by

The Shangri-Las The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 several hit songs of theirs documented teen tragedies and melodramas. They continue to be known for their hits "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", "Give Him a Gre ...

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The band w ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

and

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, among others.

References

External links

* {{Mark Kermode's Best Film of the Year 2013 films 2013 drama films 2013 biographical drama films English-language Irish films Northern Irish films British biographical drama films Films set in Belfast Films scored by David Holmes (musician) Films directed by Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn 2010s English-language films 2010s British films