synopsis:

'Quadrophenia' was made by british rock band The Who, mainly as a vehicle for their music. It is the story of Jimmy Cooper, a mod teenager who loves parties, drugs, and dancing to The Who. He feels terribly alienated from his family, idolizes his friend Ace, and is infatuated with Steph, a beautiful mod girl. Jimmy's exciting lifestyle reaches its climax at a Bank Holiday parade in Brighton, where he proudly rides his Vespa with other mods. After this, everything is a letdown, and Jimmy is overcome by alienation and disappointment.'quadrophenia' is set in London in 1964: a booming era where wage-earning teenagers are eager for fashion, socializing, recreational drugs and music. Above all, it focuses on the emergence of the 'Modernist' or Mod youth movement; and their tribal war with their 50's throwback enemies, the grubby, Gene Vincent-adoring Rockers. The attention to detail is so vivid that while you are aware of the often pointless superficiality of the Mod scene, you are at once drawn into its pulsating heart.

Jimmy puts his whole life into being a Mod, but always lays himself open to disappointment. The girl of his dreams is only leading him along; a hated Rocker turns out to be a childhood mate; the 'Ace Face' of Brighton is a hotel lackey; all his mates are merely weekend Mods to be part of a gang.

From its opening scenes, where a multi-mirrored scooter driver patrols London, keeping one eye out for girls, the other for Rockers, we are plunged into Jimmy's teenage world of highs and lows. With the progressing storyline we encounter the amphetamine-fuelled escapades of his gang, as they meet in milk bars and plan their Bank Holiday excursion. None of them are looking for anything more in life; Jimmy alone feels that something is missing, although he has no idea what this could possibly be.

about this movie:

'Quadrophenia', starring Phil Daniels and Mark Wingett, is pete Townshend and the Who's follow-up to Tommy, this time set in the early 1960's. this movie is a raw and flawless depiction of a post-war London on the cusp of the Swinging 60's, and the youth cults enacting their alternative lifestyles at that time. Particularly vivid are the gangs converging on Brighton, and the riots that instigated tabloid fury.

There are many tremendous scenes. When a hungover Jimmy throws up in his office toilets, two of his bosses pretend he isn't there. After encountering an old mate at the local baths, Jimmy freezes when he sees the guy wearing Rocker clothes. He is trapped in a tribal mindset.

Because the story is well and truly 'of the instant', the narrative merely grinds to a halt after the anti-climax of Brighton weekend. We never really know where Jimmy is going next.