24 Hour Party People

Starring: John Simm, Paddy Considine, Steve Coogan, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James

Directed by: Michael Winterbottom

RS: 3of 4 Stars

2002 United Artists Pictures Comedy

Michael Winterbottom's pitch-perfect docudrama re-creates the drug-fueled rock scene in Manchester, England, the industrial-blight backwater that spawned bands such as Joy Division/New Order and Happy Mondays. But it's chiefly the story of the self-mythologizing television reporter and scene-maker Tony Wilson -- played by Brit TV comic Steve Coogan -- who almost single-handedly built the bridge from punk to rave.

WILL DANA
(January 14, 2003)