Pirate Radio – Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll and So Much More

Dope movie. Go see it.

Directed and written by Richard Curtis and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Pirate Radio opens with Carl (played by Tom Sturridge), a teenage boy, being sent off by his mother to stay with his God Father on Radio Rock, a pirate radio stationed on a ship in the middle of the North Atlantic. Ostensibly, the boy was sent here by his mother as a disciplinary measure for getting caught with drugs in high school. Although that was the opening plot line and one which was skillfully weaved throughout the rest of the movie, it was not really what the movie was about.

The movie was, at the end of the day, about rebellion, rock and roll, and unrighteous living. The 1960′s, at least in my mind, conjures up images of Vietnam protests, bus boycotts, the civil rights movement, The Black Panthers, hippies in Haight Ashbury, academics in Berkeley and the like. This movie gave me a glimpse into what was going on on the other side of the Atlantic. Rock n Roll was a rogue musical form that broke all the existing social boundaries, and the British government passionately hated it (at least publicly). Which was yet another dominant storyline throughout the movie; an official in the British government hellbent on taking down Radio Rock.

The 8 or so Disk Jockeys that occupied the ship rotated broadcast responsibilities, each putting their own unique stamp on the illegal radio transmission by playing their favorite records and narrating the debauchery that transpired in the lives of the DJ’s: sex-scandals, lesbian chefs, life-threatening machismo competitive skirmishes, soul searching, cherries of young boys being popped, father and sons being reunited, etc. The listeners, the loyal lovers of music craving for their daily dosage of Radio Rock on the mainland ooo’ed and aww’ed, screamed and salivated, sang and danced to their favorite music being aired only on Radio Rock. From old couples with their beach radios to young teeny boppers under their covers secretely tuning in, Radio Rock had clearly tapped into the hearts and imaginations of a new era. Ultimately, it was these faithful listeners who rescued Radio Rock. Watch the movie to see what I mean.

The movie is full of laugh out loud moments, coming of age delicacies and if you squint your eyes you can glean some deeper longer-lasting messages out of this delightful, inspiring flick. Messages of resistance and the power that music has over the souls of a generation are elusive but certainly present. A movie about changing tides giving testament to the significance of doing, and listening, to what you love.