Dandilicious

I have just caught Dandilicious at the latter part of Lift Off Festival. I bought a ticket to support another film I've been following called Mariangula, and thought I may as well binge and watch other films that were selected at the film festival.

I came across this film called Dandilicious, and I was intrigued by the subject. I gave it a go... WOW. I really was not expecting a film like this. From its big and colourful characters, to its slick cinematography, and memorable soundtrack, I couldn't stop watching.

The cast were incredible. I thought Andrew Games as the teddy boy was sharp, and commanded your attention. Whilst Jade Mark as the heartbroken Brenda was someone I couldn't stop smiling at whenever she was on screen. Such a beautiful performance. Whereas other standouts were Domino played by Emmett Meehan, and Katerina Hill, who went from a self-centred character, to becoming someone who you genuinely wanted to give a cuddle to after her monologue.

This film really is an explosion of style, from 4th wall breaking, 8mm footage, and an epic sequence at the end of the film that still gives me goosebumps now as I write this.

It's a 2 hour long film. At first glance, I thought it would be a chore to get through, but it did fly by. There were scenes I felt could have been shortened, or worthy of a DVD bonus feature, but nothing that irritated me long term. There were some inconsistencies, but considering this was made on a very small budget makes it easily forgivable and doesn't distract from the story.

It wasn't until I did more research on this production since watching it that I've learnt that the cast are actually Liverpudlians playing cockneys. Its surprised me to know this, and though its unclear why this choice was made, its a testament to the actors that they can blend in to any region convincingly. Kudos to them.

I was also surprised to learn that the director, writer and actor are in fact the same person. Proven to be a recipe for disaster, this really wasn't the case here. Andrew Games is a tour de force, whilst also giving others room, and allowing actors to make an impact. It's evident from the documentaries and behind the scenes videos that this was a collaborative effort, and I believe this was the real spark of the production. Everyone clearly liked each other when the cameras weren't rolling, and wanted this production to do well.

It's rare to find movies like this, especially independent films. Dandilicious is daring, cheeky, aggressive, funny, and smart.

If this is accomplished with a micro budget, then just think what can be done with a studio financing the film.

Go and see it!

I wasn't sure what I'd make of Dandilicious being that it's a feature length indie feature - no big studios here, just grassroots talent and a whole lot of elbow grease. But is it entertaining? Yes, it is.

Depending on the person making it, an indie feature can soar or crash down in flames. Dandilicious soars. It relishes its DIY can-do attitude with a true punk sneer that is suitable in a movie about a niche musical sub-culture like the Teddy boys. It fearlessly wades through its story with such depth and confidence that you can't help but match its great strides and energy. The vibe of this film, brought into being by its bombastic main character, is contagious. Where it may lack in access to technical SFX, maybe the odd audio imbalance, Dandilicious makes absolutely certain it fires with both barrels on all other aspects: writing, performance, editing and atmosphere.

It's a raw and rough piece of on-the-street cinema that manages to pull off being grandiose and theatrical one minute, and realistic and tangible the next. It's complex, it's human, it's a serious achievement for a small production. I loved it and I will be watching it again.

A low budget independent movie that took years to make, a crowdfund campaign, COVID, and they were still able to complete it! What's my excuse?!

I've been following the journey of this production since 2019, and pledged to their Kickstarter. It's taken a while since then for obvious reasons. But was it worth the wait and the $10 I gave to the campaign? Yes!

The movie looks stunning, and the sound is crisp. The writing is strong, and the performances were amazing. Watching this it reminded me of a few favourites of mine- A Clockwork Orange, The Outsiders, Brighton Rock, and Alfie with Michael Caine.

For a character like Marty who evokes so much dislike, this could have been handled poorly if in the hands of the wrong director. However, its sustained really well through its writing and performance. There is more than enough subtlety and nuance to suggest a completely different person behind the Teddy Boy façade.

The movie is very polished, and I forgot this was an indie, being bought into its world. Sure, there were moments when I was reminded this was an indie movie, but I slipped back in without struggle. The actors and actresses were fabulous, and were cast appropriately. There were a handful of characters I wish I saw more of, or had a chance to learn more about.

The style is my vibe, but I can see this alienating a lot of people who may think its too 'arty farty'. Personally, I think this is a movie that takes risks, challenges the audience without spoon-feeding information to them, doesn't follow a conventional method of storytelling, or in other words its 'not very mainstream'. It's very self-aware, it knows its boundaries and limitations, it doesn't try to be anything it isn't, or to be pretentious. It's Dandilicious, and that's fine.

As a filmmaker myself, I finished this movie feeling motivated and inspired. This production had so many obstacles in its way, and its here to watch and enjoy.

Had high hopes for this film. Teddy Boy culture is such an iconic part of our culture that it deserves an equally iconic film treatment. This, however, is not it. A meandering, confused, unengaging plot with two dimensional characters and badly written dialogue. It's also hard to immerse yourself in the period setting of 1959 as there's so many intrusions from the modern day that could easily have been omitted. Air conditioners, LED Christmas lights, even the police sirens (presumably added in post production) are all wrong for the period. A highly stylised re-interpretation of the Teds could have been a great approach to recreating the world of the Teds on a budget however, this, if anything, is not stylised enough. Visually, there's not a coherent visual identity (just adding a grainy filter is not a visual identity) throughout the film. Overall, a swing and a miss.

I was first attracted to this indie film by the unusual title but I was delighted that I decided to watch it. A slightly unusual tale set in the 1950's the story follows Marty something of an anti hero, who is trying to keep a hold on his town as the leader of the local Teds and top of the tree.

Marty superbly played by Andrew Games treats friend and foe alike i.e. With something of disdain and a stepping stone to staying at the top. Great music helps the film move along at a good pace the actors throw themselves at the story and it all comes together with a great ending which left you wanting more. I won't spoil the story too much but as indie films go this is as good as it gets. Well done to all the cast and crew for a enjoyable couple of hours jaunt through 50's Britian.