''The Man From Mo'Wax'' is a 2016
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
about DJ and record label boss
James Lavelle
James Lavelle (born 22 February 1974) is an English electronic musician, record label owner and curator. He founded the Mo'Wax record label in 1992, and has been the only constant member of UNKLE. He directed the 2014 edition of the Meltdow ...
.
Directed by Matthew Jones, and produced by M.J. McMahon, Matthew Jones and Brian A. Hoffman. ''The Man From Mo'Wax'' had its European
premiere as part of the 2016
BFI London Film Festival on 14 October 2016 and was given a cinema release in the United Kingdom on 30 October 2018.
Overview
The film follows Lavelle's life from childhood, documenting his rapid rise to fame following the founding of his record label
Mo' Wax
Mo' Wax was a British record label founded by James Lavelle in 1992. The label was not co-founded by Tim Goldsworthy, as is often reported. Steve Finan became co-owner shortly after.
Mo' Wax came to recognition for being at the forefront of t ...
.
The film focuses on various pivotal moments in Lavelle's career, starting with his days writing for ''
Straight No Chaser'', and putting on club nights in London. Lavelle's shift from A&R man to musical artist as part of
UNKLE becomes the central theme, with his fractious relationship with
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996.
Biography Early years (1989–1995)
DJ Sh ...
unfolding throughout.
Development
The film was initially produced under the working title ''The Man From UNKLE'', and later ''Artist & Repertoire''. The film makes extensive use of private archive footage provided by both Lavelle and Shadow. Over 700 hours of footage were unearthed by the filmmakers.
Reception
, ''The Man From Mo'Wax'' with a
limited release, had grossed $25,502.
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
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 holds an approval rating of 77% based on 13 reviews.
''
Time Out'' film critic Philip De Semlyen described it as “A warts-and-all tales of hubris and heavyweight beats”.
Film review: The Man From Mo'Wax
- Philip De Semlyen
Charts
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Man From Mo'Wax
2016 films
Films about music and musicians
2010s English-language films