I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Best movie of this year hands down!

What makes it different from others?

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

In the states, Ian Dury is mostly unknown, especially now. He was a UK rocker who came out of the pub circuit. He was the most unlikely of rock stars, stricken with polio and possessed of a less than tuneful voice. Still, the music is well crafted and other than the film title some may remember the clever "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick". Andy Serkis does an amazing job as Dury, he catches his ugliness, his drive, his indifference and his fury. They don't make musicians like Dury anymore, and thats a pity. He was an original. The film gets a bit confusing jumping from the present to the past, but stay with it. If you've never heard of Dury, read up & listen before you watch this. Otherwise, I think this is a faithful film about a difficult person but one who contributed well to popular culture. R.I.P. Ian.

I had seen clips of this British film on Film 2010 with Jonathan Ross, and it looked highly interesting to see the actor who was Gollum take on a really good role like this. Basically Ian Dury (BAFTA nominated Andy Serkis) was born with polio, an infectious disease based disability causing problems for the spinal cord. This film shows his journey towards stardom as a punk rocker of the 1970's, with his alternative and ingenious approach to singing with great lyrics. It sees his leaving wife Betty (The Ghost's Olivia Williams) and going from place to place with son Baxter (Bill Milner), and his meeting of new love interest Denise Roudette (Naomie Harris). Ian Dury with his band The Blockheads started out in low key gigs, before eventually going for the guns with a recording studio and as we see in many cutaways from the story, a live concert. Through the film we see his struggling through childhood with his disability, his time with his father Bill (Ray Winstone), and the relationships of those who spent time with him musically and socially. Also starring Tom Hughes as Chaz Jankel, James Jagger as John Turnbull, The Office's Mackenzie Crook as Russell Hardy and Noel Clarke as Desmond. Serkis is brilliant as Dury, with his deep voice, costumes and make-up, his prominent drinking and smoking habit, and of course his on the money performances with songs like "Billericay Dickie", "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick", "Spasticus Autisticus" and the title song. If it wasn't for the fantastic performance by Serkis I don't think this film would be worth seeing, so thank goodness they chose him, it is a colourful, musical and really likable biographical drama. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Music for Chaz Jankel. Good!

Blows the typical Hollywood bio-pics (RAY, WALK THE LINE, etc. etc.) right out of the water. A career-defining performance from Andy Serkis...his BAFTA nomination was more than well-deserved. He literally inhabits this physically and emotionally demanding role. The film does not sugar-coat the fact the Dury was a hard man to be around. Superbly edited as well, combining graphics, animation, varying film-stocks and angles, B&W, flashbacks, and fantasy sequences (ever see a band perform UNDER water?). While this might sound like a mish-mash, it certainly reflects those same artistic elements and chaos of the times. Yet the movie never loses it's narrative thru-line. A must-see, even more so for those who remember.

A fine lead performance by Andy Serkis who played Gollum, King Kong and, er Moors Murderer Ian Brady. I suppose what with him playing real people - or at least established characters - he's following a similar career path to Blair/Frost/Clough actor Michael Sheen. (While Serkis doing Blair would be a stretch, I could see Sheen playing the anaemic po-faced Brady.) Serkis seems to BE Dury though he doesn't look that much like him; Dury looked like a malformed Kray twin and Ray Winstone (who pops up as Dury's dad) in his younger days would be more a physical match.Talking of which, Jamie Winstone appears before the film starts doing her schoolmarm bit, telling us to watch out for anyone videoing the movie. "There's always one who's got to spoil it isn't there..." The movie is good stuff and I liked the dialogue, though much of it may be bon mots from the man himself rather than from the scriptwriter. It's mainly The Life and Death of Peter Sellers type stuff, in that we have a guy over 30 held back by perceived physical limitations and prejudice who makes it big at the expense of his family life.That said, the genre is a bit box-ticking in its emotions, it's all emotional shorthand. Everything is deliberately simplified, prettified and made a bit phony. When we see the band practising at home, and Dury sacks the drummer while his wife is giving birth upstairs, well, that's based on a real event, except here it looks phony, comical. And it's a bit like that throughout: here's the girlfriend looking moody, here's the kid petulantly burning his dad's presents, etc. It lacks verisimilitude, or that seedy, downbeat 1970s punk vibe. The audience is spoonfed and every scene is a stepping stone. It also has to overlook the fact that unlike Gene Vincent, Dury did not die young, say in 1980, but 20 years later, not in a ripe old age admittedly but with enough time to conjure with.Still, enjoyable throughout and artist Peter Blake's titles are very good. Blake was Dury's tutor don't you know.