Powder – review

There was a time when rock movies had a certain vivacity that went with the music – That'll Be the Day and Stardust, the 1970s diptych of David Puttnam productions starring David Essex for example. Nowadays they tend to be gloomy affairs such as Anton Corbijn's biography of Ian Curtis, that take their doom-laden heroes at their own valuation. Powder is the fictionalised story of two Merseyside bands. The Grams are a group of unimpeachable integrity led by the lugubrious Keva (Liam Boyle), whose abusive childhood guarantees the authenticity of his music. The Transbad Saints, on the other hand, are a slick crowd of phoneys led by the posturing, epicene Helmet (Al Weaver), who steal a No 1 hit from Keva and head for the States. There's a dull excursion to Ibiza where a suicide and much drug-taking ensue, and a climactic sequence shot on location at the V festival in Suffolk.