Good Vibrations

Directed by: Lisa Barros D’Sa, Glenn Leyburn

Starring: Richard Dormer, Jodie Whittaker, Liam Cunningham

THIS chronicle of the man dubbed the godfather of the Belfast punk scene has charm to burn and the raw energy of the music of that time to fall back on.

Based on the life and times of the idealistic Terri Hooley, a man prepared to put his house on the line to fulfil his dream of opening a record store, the film is set against the backdrop of the so-called Troubles in Northern Ireland.

If you still feel a tingle of excitement in recalling the first time you ever heard The Undertones’ Teenage Kicks or Stiff Little Fingers’ Alternative Ulster, this film is going to push the right buttons. Even if you don’t, it might fill a gap in your musical education.

What it lacks in focus, Good Vibrations makes up for in the sheer sense of joie de vivre running throughout the story. The directors make a decent stab at capturing the ‘do it yourself’ spirit which engendered the late 1970s’ punk explosion.

Terri Hooley is played beautifully and sympathetically by Richard Dormer, whose mischievous smile just lights up the screen.

These were the days when band members themselves would hand fold the sleeves of 7 inch singles to keep costs down – a far cry from digital downloads at the push of a smartphone button.

The moment Hooley’s eclectic musical taste was swayed from a long-standing love of reggae, country and folk to punk is brilliantly captured and will be familiar to anyone who has ever been blown away by a band at a live show.

The attention to detail is great, too. We pick up the story with Hooley as a small boy day-dreaming in his garden while listening blissfully to a gospel record. Men of a certain age now will instantly recognise the striped adjustable elastic belts with ‘s’-shaped clasps worn at the time.

There’s a remarkable innocence and simplicity to those times too, looking back through the lens of nostalgia.

While likely to appeal most to a niche audience of a certain age, the screening I took in attracted a few young pups unlikely to have born when the likes of The Undertones and co were at their peak.

Perhaps punk’s not dead after all...

Good Vibrations is being screened at Eden Court until Tuesday, May 6.

Hector Mackenzie