A disappointing “Pirate Radio” lacks story and conflict

In Great Britain during the 1960s, the BBC banned rock n’ roll from their airwaves. In reaction to this, a number of “pirate” radio stations sprung up off the coast of Britain. The film “Pirate Radio,” originally released in Britain under the title “The Boat that Rocked,” is Richard Curtis’ retelling of this rock ‘n’ roll fable.

Curtis is best recognized as a writer of British romantic comedies, having penned films “Notting Hill,” “Bridget Jones’ Diary” and his directorial debut, “Love, Actually.” In “Love, Actually,” Curtis masterfully wove together the lives of an ensemble of characters, gently pushing them towards each other until the audience actually fell in love with them. In “Pirate Radio,” however, Curtis takes a step far backwards.

My largest complaint with “Pirate Radio” is the lack of a legitimate, threatening central conflict within the film. The obvious choice for an antagonist, played by Kenneth Branagh, never seems to be a threat to any of the main characters. As a result of this, the sense of urgency that ought to pervade the later parts of the film is never quite present.

In addition to the villain not being particularly villainous, the heroes are seldom heroic. All of the characters, with the possible exception of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s, were lacking any depth or reason to be taken seriously. Instead of referring to the characters by name, the average viewer may see them as just “the fat guy” or “the dumb guy who was actually wise.”

Too often, the writing beats the viewer over the head with the characters’ flaws and idiosyncrasies rather than letting the viewer discover them for themselves. If the mantra of the screenwriter is to show rather than tell, then Curtis, in this film, fails as a screenwriter.

It would not be fair, however, to leave the film’s good points unmentioned. As previously stated, Hoffman makes his presence known as an American DJ trapped on a boat with a number of bizarre British characters. The soundtrack, though rarely useful in underlining the themes of the film or moving the story along, contains great songs and will leave you with a craving for classic rock of all creeds. The costumes were also excellent, providing an accurate sense of both the trends of the 1960s and the eccentricities of the characters.

If given the chance, would I pay to see this film again? No. However, years from now, will I one day sit down with this movie to hang out with entertaining, if bland, characters? Yes. In fact, as I’m writing this, I am watching the British cut of the film and I have to say, it’s a better overall experience.

If you want this film to be a stirring representation of youth during the 60s, watch “Across the Universe.” But if all you’re looking for is an excuse to laugh at British people while listening to The Who, add this movie to your Netflix queue.