Firstly, it's helpful to have watched the recent BBC4 documentary about Northern Soul. It's obvious to see that the film's director - who appeared in the documentary - made the film to bring the story of Northern Soul to the big screen. As such, the music, the style, the dance halls, and the dancing are the prime focus of the film, with the fictional drama and characters being of a secondary concern, and it feels they only exist on which to present the phenomenon of Northern Soul, least of all the drugs use which accompanied it.
It's a pity that not the same amount of effort was put towards the drama aspect of the film as was put towards the music, the fashions, and the dancing, as it would then have felt a more cohesive whole, but it's churlish to pick such faults in what is otherwise an most enjoyable film. Naturally, the added bonus is the soul music, even though its brilliance does tend to outshine other aspects of the film. The local indie cinema in which I watched it this pm (October 17th) was fully booked for the entire week that they're showing this film, which goes to show it's been highly anticipated. Recommended.
