Kill Your Friends

I did not know a great deal about Kill Your Friends, didn't even say a trailer. If you are planning to see this movie then don't because what results is a shocking lock into the life of a failing music producer and the lengths he will take to become a success in a harsh industry. A pitch black comedy with a story that was actually a lot more interesting than it sounds.

Nicolas Hoult takes on the lead role, which was the first thing that worried me. The guy is a brilliant actor and in my opinion was the definitive standout as Nux in this summer's Mad Max Fury Road, but its very rare, if ever that we see him in a lead role. In this film, he takes the role and makes it his own which turns out is a very good thing because he made this movie about half of what was enjoyable. From the title you know that this guy is on the edge and could snap at any moment and Hoult makes this so believable. We also get a smaller role from a drugged up James Corden which felt so weird but so right. Every scene we see him in he is snorting cocaine and doing things his regular persona on TV wouldn't dream of. So props to Corden for managing to actually pull this off.

My absolute favourite thing about this movie however, is the soundtrack. We open with Blur's Beetlebum and if you know me you'll know im a real sucker for Britpop so i was happy to hear this and other artists i grew up with throughout including Oasis. The film explores different types of music perfectly,so i can say i am satisfied with that aspect. The black comedy aspect was slightly in your face at times with a police officer character in particular who is so dumb that you just question why he is even on this case, but then you figure out sort of why he is oblivious to this, whether or not intentional by the filmmakers.

Overall, a good British film which deserves more attention than it is getting. I can see where negative reviews may come from especially since the graphic violence sort of comes at you out of nowhere at first. But i recommend seeing this one, don't listen to the terrible reviews and judge for yourself.

"Get fucked, you wouldn't last 10 minutes" quips Steven Stelfox (Hoult) right into the camera early on in KILL YOUR FRIENDS, the adaptation of John Niven's 2008 novel. He's aiming this put-down at the viewer as an exclamation of his superiority over us. He wants us to be envious, jealous, maybe even hate him. He's an A&R man in the music business, and he wants us to know that his life is awesome, and ours is not when compared to his. This set-up is then followed by roughly 90 minutes of the sort of drug-taking, jet-flying and partying exploits that could be expected, with the odd merciless killing thrown in for good measure. By the end though, it's difficult to feel envious of him, because when it comes down to it, his life (and by implication; this film) is really not that great.

Set in the year 1997, Stelfox is consistently hunting for the next big thing in music. In doing so, his excessive lifestyle can be permitted to continue. He will stop at nothing to be successful in this business and he's not afraid to step on toes to get there. When even that won't work, there are always... other options.

Nicholas Hoult, at first glance appears too young to play this role. The baby-faced actor is a little difficult to take seriously as a top A&R man when the majority of his colleagues appear at least 10 or 15 years older than him. Hoult however, carries himself nicely in the lead role, doing all that can be reasonably required of him. Unfortunately the issues for KILL YOUR FRIENDS stem from a very unfocused script that never seems to have a chief goal to aim for. The story attempts to make up for this by throwing in some genuinely shocking scenes of violence that will long be the images engrained in people's mind when they think back to this film.

The consistent fourth-wall breaking nature of Stelfox's character, coupled with the ever-present voiceover means we always know exactly what's going on in Stelfox's head. But this doesn't necessarily ensure we always know why he's doing the things he's doing. His eventual foray into murderous tendencies is not handled with any clear focus and subsequently just feels out of character, even for someone with his levels of excess.

John Niven's adapted screenplay is keen to hammer in the point that the music business is full of people, tasked with pulling the strings of artists who all have egos that outweigh their talent by a considerable margin. Niven himself worked in the music business for ten years, so its more than likely his characters are loosely based on real people that he has came across during this time. This adds a certain authenticity to the proceedings here, and it's not exactly too difficult to imagine some of the people were genuinely like this, especially in the 'experimental' 90's music era.

For all the good intentions involved here, KILL YOUR FRIENDS comes across as a distant British second cousin to both THE WOLF OF WALL STREET and AMERICAN PSYCHO, paying homage to both but never really finding its own identity.

Despite only loosely living up to the title, Kill Your Friends is a darkly funny and very twisted look at the high stakes world of music management that desperately wants to be American Psycho but lacks the energy and darkness to fully achieve those lofty ambitions. It's still able to sustain itself on some good jokes interspersed throughout and the overall cynical nature, culminating in a satisfyingly twisted ending.

Nicholas Hoult doesn't always feel like the best choice for this material however, he is fully committed to this irredeemable character so he can move past those early growing pains. He's ambitious to the point of being ruthless and conceals his true villainy under a false layer of incompetence. Even with a fairly strong supporting cast of characters it's still all resting on his central performance to keep things going.

Owen Harris' competent yet bland direction weirdly lacks the necessary manic energy outside of some brief glimpses into Hoult's darkest thoughts. For a film that spends so much time in clubs and drug fueled parties, its lowered visual energy becomes kinda distracting, counterbalanced by the tone never wavering. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tom Holkenborg's score and the soundtrack really understood the assignment.

This Film tells the story of a record industry talent scout in the 1990's London, who stops at nothing when it comes to career advancement.

Firstly, the music in the film is great because those songs are the songs I grew listening to. Hearing relatively non hit tracks such as "The Private Psychedelic Wheel", or other big hits like "Encore Une Fois" brings back memories of those great years!

Nicholas Hoult is insanely handsome in this film. He's charming and likable even though his character is reminiscent of "American Psycho". That's what make the film very interesting and engaging. I really enjoyed it.

I loved the book. The book is laugh-out-loud funny. The problem with this cinematic adaptation is that there are only a few laugh-out-loud moments. Tone is the problem. The opening sets up the tone as dark and unpleasant and the main character as thoroughly unlikeable. We have to spend an hour and a half with this guy? It's like having to sit beside a racist drunk on a night bus. But it's hard to not like Nicholas Hoult (and the scathing honesty of his character) and the film did grow on me - perhaps like a tumour. There are moments of brilliance and a few great lines (no pun intended) but ultimately the buzz doesn't quite feel worth it.