It's some time in 1970s London. Punk is just about to make its mainstream breakthrough when young Enn (Alex Sharp), an aspiring comic book artist who lives with his single mum Marion (Joanna Scanlan), has a night on the town with his friends. It proves to be a very fateful night when the gang encounter a group of extra-terrestrial teenagers visiting Earth to complete a strange rite of passage. One of them is the striking and rebellious Zan (Elle Fanning), who immediately ensnares Enn. As Enn and Zan then quickly fall in love, their fight to be together generates conflict on and between both their worlds.
This adaptation of Neil Gaiman's 2006 short story, as directed and co-written by John Cameron Mitchell, is like the bastard offspring of A Clockwork Orange and a Vivienne Westwood fashion parade. It's a nut I couldn't fully crack if I'm entirely honest, but I genuinely enjoyed trying to crack it nonetheless. With its vivid fusion of rock music and science fiction/fantasy elements, How to Talk to Girls at Parties I think shows Gaiman's and Mitchell's tastes and narrative styles in consistent simpatico; to anybody who's unaware, Gaiman is best-known for fantasy novels like Stardust, and Mitchell for the glam rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Fanning, who's very talented, I think was unchallenged in this role but remains watchable nonetheless, while Sharp, with more to do emotionally, projects the right attitude and look throughout; among the supporting cast are Nicole Kidman (reuniting with Mitchell after their 2010 film Rabbit Hole) having great fun as local punk hangout manager Queen Boadicea, and Matt Lucas as one of the alien leaders. Throw some beautifully realised visual effects, lucid editing and a lively soundtrack, and for me this was a weird but engaging and very intriguing romantic ride through our universe. 8/10.
This adaptation of Neil Gaiman's 2006 short story, as directed and co-written by John Cameron Mitchell, is like the bastard offspring of A Clockwork Orange and a Vivienne Westwood fashion parade. It's a nut I couldn't fully crack if I'm entirely honest, but I genuinely enjoyed trying to crack it nonetheless. With its vivid fusion of rock music and science fiction/fantasy elements, How to Talk to Girls at Parties I think shows Gaiman's and Mitchell's tastes and narrative styles in consistent simpatico; to anybody who's unaware, Gaiman is best-known for fantasy novels like Stardust, and Mitchell for the glam rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Fanning, who's very talented, I think was unchallenged in this role but remains watchable nonetheless, while Sharp, with more to do emotionally, projects the right attitude and look throughout; among the supporting cast are Nicole Kidman (reuniting with Mitchell after their 2010 film Rabbit Hole) having great fun as local punk hangout manager Queen Boadicea, and Matt Lucas as one of the alien leaders. Throw some beautifully realised visual effects, lucid editing and a lively soundtrack, and for me this was a weird but engaging and very intriguing romantic ride through our universe. 8/10.
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