I remember back in 2008 when I stumbled across the God Help the Girl album. A huge B&S fan, it was recommended by the I Tunes bot, and while i usually pass on those, I couln't help but be intrigued by a musical with music by Stuart Murdoch.
Loved the album, couldn't wait for the movie, though at the time, details were sketchy at best. As years past, the album remained a mainstay on my pod rotation, but I'd essentially forgotten that it was intended as a soundtrack to something.
Then a few months back, I came across the God Help the Girl, the actual soundtrack, and found that it was finally coming out. I knew it was a small Indie movie, and it would be a while before I got to see it, and I expected that. Then last night, the Gods of awesome smiled upon me when my wife told me that it was On Demand in the In Theatres section. And all was well.
Anyway, to the movie. Again, it is what I expected. To some up the story, such as it is, you only need two words; hipsters and music. It is all shot in very retro fashion, and nails that part. Like the Beatles movies of the 1960s, the story is essentially a vehicle to travel from song to song, most of which are essentially music videos, and shot as such. And again, knowing what to expect, that's wonderful. What's even better is that the actors are well aware of this. Emily Browning may mot be Jennifer Lawrence in terms of name recognition, but she's a bigger name than I would have expected here, and effortlessly believable.
The only blemish is that some of the songs feel shoehorned in. Act of the Apostle (which is actually Act of the Apostle II in the B&S catalogue,) feels random and out of place as an opening number. Again, such is the nature of this type of film, but this one feels like they just wanted to eek i in, so used it as an opening number. Also, the title song, as well as my favorite, Perfection as a Hipster are not done justice, especially the later, which plays softly in the background via the radio, though be it in an appropriate scene.
All and all, like the afore mentioned Beatles films, this ones about the music. While the acting's wonderful, the story isn't going to reel you in. My recommendation is to listen to the music first, be it the 2008 studio album or the movie soundtrack. Or both. If you like the music, watch the movie. If not, you'll probably be, dare I say...bored out of your mind.
