Truly Dreadful Film

Lack of good storyline.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Although STONED might not be a truly accurate representation of Brian Jones's last hours, it does demonstrate a plausible and more believable account than the more simplistic, "Death By Misadventure" hypothesis. The crux of the theory is propagated in Geoffrey Giuliano's book, THE WILD AND WICKED WORLD OF BRIAN JONES, but the conclusions of this book are still conjecture, and largely based on the deathbed confession of Frank Thorogood (played by Paddy Considine). However, in this film, Considine gives a tremendous performance as the blue-collar contractor who is strangely attracted, yet repulsed by the bohemian lifestyle of the most decadent Stone, Brian Jones. The chronology of the film documents the Stones trajectory from minor Blues Aficionados, through Teen Idols, and on to an exploration of Jones's inability as group leader, to stimulate the band in a revolutionary new direction. Although, the film doesn't mention it, Mick Jagger was an accounting major, and he clearly has never lost sight of the monetary value of things. I think that Jagger has always viewed Art as runner-up to Business, and his view has proved transcendent within the world of The Stones. STONED provides a fascinating portrait of a man utterly devoted to the indulgence of sensual pleasures above all else, and the dire consequences of cheating and exploiting those closest to him.

You might think the life and lifestyle of rock star Brian Jones consisted of a little more than what we get in Stephen Woolley's 2005 film entitled 'Stoned'. But then again, it isn't about his life as much as it is about his death; it isn't really about Brian Jones as much as it is about a certain Frank Thorogood, and the things he did during a famous but fateful period of time. I read that there is no definitive answer regarding Jone's death, a deathbed confession that supposedly never was; a tragic accident that was apparently very deliberate. The film is, in the end, a documenting of one side of the story – a belief a certain director might have or a take on previously transpired events. It is a documentation that is brimming with style and emphasis on the visual as it flies through this person's life up to the point he'll meet the man that supposedly murdered him, before slowing down and making a meek study.The man in question is Brian Jones (Gregory), a member of a rock band named The Rolling Stones from which I'm pretty sure the title of the film comes; although he did rather like his drug use. The film begins with Jones' euphoric rise to power with archive footage shoved in our faces as fast edits, bright colours and general build up hogs the screen. This is before Paddy Considine's Frank Thorogood arrives, a builder who leads a very simple life with unspectacular but somewhat desired results. He is unimpressed by Jones at first, even under-rawed by his presence in comparison to flocks of screaming fans shown mere minutes ago. And so the slight study is established with an underwhelmed Thorogood initially meeting super-star Jones before time develops mindsets and attitudes eventually change.The study isn't so much obsession with a celebrity, as explored in The King of Comedy, as much as it is eventual jealousy; a taste of the forbidden fruit and then a constant temptation to revert back to it. But it is Jones whose given the majority of the runtime, through a series of necessary flashbacks unfolded mostly through a visual filter of bright colours; bizarre camera angles shot on an array of different lens'; this down to the influence the ecstasy has on said people. We get all the necessary stuff: the scenes at the concerts; progression with the rest of the band members and how that spirals out of control; the progression of his relationship with girlfriends and the meeting of a certain Anna Wohlin (Novotny) backstage at Munich, although I'm not sure how she got through all that crowd control. She does, incidentally, pretty much exist to remove her clothes every now and again as well as act as the object of Thorogood's gaze.Jones seems to have garnered all of what he had by accident. He's portrayed as immature and not as a particularly clever individual at the best of times, but he inherits all this fame and attention which comes with the house, the cars and the women following shows across Europe. But rather than portray Jones in a negative light and force us into disliking him, I really just felt sorry for him; that this individual, who clearly loves what he does for a living, just doesn't know how to use all this money and fame in a sensible manner with moderation seemingly ever-elusive. A lot of whatever kick you're going to get out of the study the film makes, lies within Thorogood's gaze. He, along with a few other builders, is hired to extend Jones' huge manor house based out in the country as Jones himself faces exile from the band that made him famous.As a character, Frank is central to the film. He represents not only the audience, as a figure that is given permission to be allowed into this little world of allure and fame, but additionally as a representation of how easy it to fall into the 'trap' of this lifestyle; how someone quite feasibly on Brian Jones' 'level' of sensibility and intellect can be lured into a life of women, hallucinogenic drugs and rock music. It also acts as a demonstration on Jones' influence and how his way of life is able to influence. Frank is allowed glimpses of Anna when he does push-ups in front of her as well as Jones; he gets a flavour for the laid back lifestyle as Jones sits beside an empty pool and listens to rock music, Frank looking over him in eerie fashion given how it all ends; and the casual drug use soon follows before Frank begins to loose the trust and connection with his fellow builders, much like Jones began to loose the respect and acknowledgement of his own group of co-workers, that being his band: The Rolling Stones.It's all quite interesting, but progressive and feels somewhat obligatory. David Morrissey turns up now and again as Tom Keylock, Jones' manager and chews the scenery as he spouts dialogue delivered in what sounds uncannily like a Michael Caine impression; but the supporting cast is disappointing on the whole. The other 'Stones' members are there purely for petty visualisation; the girls exist to get naked and daft cameos from people like David Walliams as an accountant just distract when it shouldn't. Regardless, the film is worth seeing for its documentation of Jones' last days and its look at the lifestyle it studies.

'Stoned' is a Brit docu-drama in the mould of 'Scandal' or even '10 Rillington Place' about the final weeks of Stones founder Brian Jones' life - and it purports to give the explanation of how a strong swimmer who had been coming off drugs drowned, when he shouldn't have.Good points: It's very low budget, but for all that never feels set-bound, and the main location is fantastic; the sixties feel is authentic, and the use of contemporary cameras to film the flashback scenes works. The feel of how Brian alienated himself from the band, and how he was both exploited by and dependent on hangers-on like Thorogood and Keylock is well expressed. I didn't find it boring because maybe I am aware of the background - 'Stoned' starts with a fair amount of exposition of who Jones actually was, which must be news to those who discovered the Stones after 'Angie'. The relationship between Jones and Thorogood is the key, and 'Stoned' makes this completely credible.Not so good points: I'm afraid that Leo Gregory never persuades me that he is the super-charismatic Cheltenham boy who founded the world's greatest rock'n'roll band. I kept thinking he was supposed to be Peter Frampton. Brian Jones was one of those people whose sexy, defenceless smile made people forgive him just about anything - Leo Gregory never captures the vulnerability or the extreme arrogance that would have driven Thorogood to murder. He seems to leave it to the script. I would also have liked more about how Thorogood allegedly 'confessed on his deathbed'. This is left as a footnote at the end, which kind of dilutes the fact that this was a big mystery at the time, and is actually the whole point of the film. It's what we want to know.If you like docu-dramas, 'Stoned' is an unusual one and definitely worth your time if you know anything about the early Stones. If you don't, it won't tell you much, and in that it falls short. I've given it a nine to balance the unreasonably low scores given elsewhere by Mick Jagger fans. It's an intelligent film, but not over-intelligent.

The Rolling Stones ripped off the blues greats, and were just another example of white men ripping off black men, like Elvis and all the rest. I have no idea what contribution Brian Jones made to their tinny dance records, and I tended to agree with the outraged father of a fourteen year-old girl (depicted in an early scene) who said how much he despised him for getting her pregnant. Jones's despicable answer was that a doctor could do away with it. Way to go, Mr Wooley, set up your hero as a total tosser right from the get-go! Now we don't care about him at all, let's get on with the rest of the film, eh? There's no mystery about the pool death now, any more than there was in Sussex at the time: I was there. The guy was a decadent poltroon who had an asthma attack while swimming and accidentally drowned because he was hopelessly overweight and weak from chronic dypsomania. No one killed him, he killed himself, blatantly. Looking at the footage of the half-million attending the free concert for Brian held in Hyde Park, I wonder what got into everyone at the time. It must have been the very powerful sound systems that were coming in, and could reach big crowds and make more money than anyone had ever imagined. Give me Nora Jones instead of Brian Jones any time.