SoulBoy

I caught "SoulBoy" during the EIFF in July.

It's now out on general release so I thought another look at my thoughts might do no harm!

SoulBoy tells the story of the Northern Soul phenomenom that gripped thousands of teenagers in the UK in the nineteen seventies. With an obsessive devotion to rare soul records, dancing and clothes it was the bastard child of the Mod movement of the sixties.

Here Joe (Martin Comptson) falls for Northern Soul girl Jane (Nichola Burley) and in order to impress her makes his way to the Mecca of the scene...the Wigan Casino where the infamous all nighters are held from 2am until 8am. Along the way he discovers a real love for the music and the dancing as well as who it is that he really loves...oh, I can hear you all already giving it big licks about lacking originality and being formulaic. You might have a point but I'm a sucker for British subcultures and the Northern Soul scene is one of the great lost youth movements, it's good to see it getting a run out on the big screen.

Like "Quadrophenia" being spliced with "Billy Elliot" this is a movie with some laughs, some good performances (keep an eye out for Jo Hartley who was last seen playing Shauns mum in "This Is England") and some hand clappin', foot stompin', funky butt shakin' music in the soundtrack.