Sid And Nancy

Alex Cox, UK 1986, 111 minutes

Alex Cox's films are always worth watching but this is essential viewing. In this biopic he deals with two of the most infamous characters in music history, a harrowing, visceral work that has you reeling in disbelief and wonder.

Sid (Gary Oldman) is the bassist in the most famous punk band ever. Nancy (Chloe Webb) is a groupie. Both are addicts in the purest sense of the word. They work as a unit, though, as they come closer and closer to self-destruction, they become more and more unseparable. The official verdict is that Sid killed Nancy, but by the end of the film, neither has a choice. They are the extremists of the "I want my way and I'll get it" crowd and they cannot live in a world that will not adapt to them. They are the perfect couple in the worst of worlds.

Oldman and Webb are terrifyingly convincing in two of the strongest performances of the `80s and every other character just fades in their wake (including a dodgy turn by Courtney Love). This just reinforces the point of the film; it is about two people, not trends, not punk, not drugs, just two lost, misplaced people.

This remains one of the most brutal love stories ever filmed.

"The definitive pic on the punk phenomenon... both actors are beyond praise... a dynamic piece of work" - Variety

Review by Andrew Hesketh
Taken from EUFS Programme 1996-97

This is probably the best film so far from Alex Cox (the guy who presents BBC's Moviedrome'). Cox's tale is the romantic tragedy of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. A sort of punk Brief Encounter. Gary Oldman plays Sid and manages to took more cadaverous than he did in Bram Stoker's Dracula and Chloe Webb plays Nancy. The backdrop to the love story is a constant stream of hard drugs, violence and stupidity (you can't say that about Brief Encounter). They love each other very much - witness the startling scene where they kiss as it rains garbage behind them - but it's not long before their time is up. Did Sid murder Nancy or was it a botched suicide pact? We'll probably never know.

Sid and Nancy is a remarkable film capturing the feeling of an era that is rarely explored by film-makers. An odd and unforgettable love story that is guaranteed to fascinate.

Review by Allan Smithee
Taken from EUFS Programme 1993-94