''The Pebble and the Boy'' is a 2021 British comedy drama film written and directed by Chris Green. The film centres on the

mod subculture Mod, from the word modernist, is a subculture that began in London and spread throughout Great Britain and elsewhere, eventually influencing fashions and trends in other countries, and continues today on a smaller scale. Focused on music and ...

and stars Patrick McNamee,

Sacha Parkinson Sacha Louise Parkinson (born 11 March 1992) is an English actress, known for her role as Sian Powers on the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Early life Sacha Louise Parkinson was born on 11 March 1992 in Salford, Greater Manchester, the ...

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and was the lead singer of the pop band Eighth Wonder in the 1980s. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Bird ...

and

Ricci Harnett Ricci Harnett (born 20 March 1975) is an English actor, best known for his role as Carlton Leach In the film ''Rise of the Footsoldier''. He was born in London. He made his screen debut in ''The Object of Beauty'' alongside John Malkovich. He al ...

. It was released on 27 August 2021.

Plot

The film starts with John, a teenager living in Manchester, learning that his father (who he barely knew) has died in a scooter accident. Deciding as a tribute he will take his father's ashes to Brighton, he embarks on a road trip from his home in Manchester, riding his father's prized Lambretta. On the way, he stays at a friends of his Dad's, and meets his daughter Nicki (Sacha Parkinson), a feisty contrast to his rather understated character, who decided to accompany him on the trip, keen to get to a

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...

concert in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. After staying at a night at a pub, and befriending some bikers (

Stuart Wolfenden Stuart Wolfenden (born 7 February 1970) is an English actor. He has played three different roles in Coronation Street, first as paper boy Craig Russell, then as Mark Casey and later as Greig Hodge. More recently he joined the cast of Hollyoaks a ...

) and (

Emma Stansfield Emma Stansfield (born Emma Thompson on 7 January 1978 in Monmouth, Monmouthshire, Wales) is a Welsh actress. Life Born Emma Thompson, her parents Colin and Gill Thompson trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, and run an amateur d ...

) Nicki decides to visit another mod friend of John's Dad, Ronnie (

) and Sonia (

). They stay at the their house overnight, where, after telling John about his father, they start drinking and taking drugs. Late in the night, Ronnie inexplicably flips out in a jealous rage, talking about someone called Ali causing trouble with his wife. Ronnie tries to stop them from leaving, however he gives them money for their trip, which he gives to his son Logan, who accompanies them on his scooter. They continue on their scooters, encountering various incidents as they travel until they get to Brighton. At Brighton they go to a shop where they see a picture of John's dad on the wall, a front page newsclipping. They decided to get a copy of it, but instead get another article that shows that John's Dad was in a violent incident and was put in jail. John is shocked at learning this about his father, and despondent about the fact that no one had told him. John, Nicky and Logan spend more time in Brighton, meeting some more mods, eventually learning the full story of his father.

Cast

*Patrick McNamee as John *

as Nicki *Max Boast as Logan *

as Sonia *

as Ronnie *

Jesse Birdsall Jesse Birdsall (born 13 February 1963) is an English actor, known for his roles as Marcus Tandy in the BBC1 soap opera ''Eldorado'', Nick Beckett in the adventure series '' Bugs'' (1995–1999), football manager Roger Webb in ''Footballers' Wive ...

as Ali *

as Dione *

Christine Tremarco Christine Tremarco (born 1977) is a British television actress whose career began in 1992. She is best known for portraying the role of Davina Shackleton in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2007–2009) and also in BBC ...

as Dawn *

as Geoff *

Jamie Lomas James Lomas (born 21 April 1975) is an English actor, known for his soap opera roles as Warren Fox in ''Hollyoaks'' and Jake Stone in ''EastEnders''. Life and career Lomas was born in Manchester. Before joining ''Hollyoaks'' in 2006, he had m ...

as Deano *

Brian Croucher Brian Croucher (born 23 January 1942) is an English actor and director best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997, in the soap opera '' EastEnders''. Croucher also had a regular role in the science fiction series ' ...

as Danny *Charlotte Tyree as Mel *

Mani Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...

as Gary *

Mark Sheals Mark Sheals is an actor, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for Wales, and at club level for Swinton, Leigh ( Heritage No. 1009), Oldham ( Heritage No.) and Wakefield T ...

as Steve

Production

The film was shot in 2021, and delayed for release substantially because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Various Mod tracks from classic 80's bands are used on the soundtrack, including the Jam, Paul Weller, Secret Afair, The Chords and The Style Counci

. The director, Chris Green, had spent 10 years getting the project off the ground, and he had been a mod himself in the 1980s

Reception

The film generally received positive reviews. Rich Johnston, writing for Bleeding Cool referred to it as "an infectious film". UK Film Review gave it four out of five stars, saying "An emotional road trip movie loaded with classic jams and stylish fashion". Blazing Minds also gave it a four out of five stars, calling it a "quintessential comedy drama of Mod culture and music". Maryam Philpot, writing for the Reviews Hub, gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars saying "fairly unsurprising road movie but as a celebration of when you’re young and a soundtrack of classic hits, it’s a journey worth taking." We Are Cult said that it was a ''"celebration of older mod culture but tries to put this in the context of the modern world. It is not just nostalgia.”'' and overall ''"An enjoyable film for the August bank holiday"''

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 ...

however, gave the film two out of five stars, "Not even a storming soundtrack of mod classics can save a humdrum scooter-to-Brighton caper"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pebble and the Boy, The 2021 films 2021 drama films British comedy-drama films 2020s English-language films 2020s British films