Spike Island (film)

Spike Island
Spike Island
	Spike Island film poster
Directed by	Mat Whitecross
Written by	Chris Coghill
Produced by	Esther Douglas; Fiona Neilson
Starring	Elliott Tittensor; Emilia Clarke; Lesley Manville;
Cinematography	Christopher Ross
Edited by	Peter Christelis
Music by	Ilan Eshkeri; Tim Wheeler
Production; companies	Bankside Films; Fiesta Productions; Head Gear Films; Metrol Technology; Revolver Entertainment;
Distributed by	Vertigo Films; Universal Pictures; BBC Films;
Release dates	11 October 2012 (BFI London Film Festival); 21 June 2013 (United Kingdom);
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	£157,036

Spike Island is a 2012 British comedy film directed by Mat Whitecross and written by Chris Coghill. It was distributed by Universal Pictures and Vertigo Films and produced by Revolver Entertainment. The film is based on the Stone Roses' seminal gig on Spike Island in Widnes, Cheshire, England, and follows the story of a group of friends who idolise the band and try to get into the gig, but are faced with problems because they don’t have tickets or a way to get there. Spike Island premiered on 11 October 2012 at the BFI London Film Festival and was released on DVD on 21 June 2013.

Plot

Set in May 1990, the film follows the exploits of five lads: Gary 'Tits' Titchfield, Darren 'Dodge' Hodge, Chris 'Zippy' Weeks, 'Little Gaz' Gareth Barrett and 'Penfold' Andrew Peach. They are fans of the Stone Roses and members of wannabe band Shadowcaster. It starts 60 hours prior to the Stone Roses' legendary gig at Spike Island, Widnes, Cheshire. The group get an idea to give the Stone Roses their cassette tape via Sally, a girl whom both Tits and Dodge show interest in, although Dodge has never spoken to her. They hatch a plan to get tickets to the gig and kick-start their career. Tits' brother 'Ibiza' Steve gets the boys on the guest-list for the gig. But when Tits' dad becomes increasingly ill during the 60 hours, he fails to turn up and on the morning of the gig his dad worsens but his dad tells Tits to go to the gig. Penfold's dad burns his top in an effort to stop him from going and when he goes to hit him Penfold stands up to his dad after his dad has been abusing him and heads to the gig. They lure 'Uncle Hairy' out of his van and steal it but when they run out of fuel they have to stop but Penfold convinces them to walk to the M6. They hide in the baggage hold of the bus until they arrive at Spike Island. Once arrived they jump out of their hiding place and are chased by police and the bus driver but lose them in the crowd. They lose Penfold and are unable to find him, so they carry on to the entry zone but are turned away because they do not have tickets and are not on the guest-list. The remaining four make their way to the outside of the venue. They meet Sally who has lost her friends in the crowd and doesn't want to go in alone and gives Dodge her ticket. Dodge heads for the gig without the cassette tape because he was afraid "to fuck it up". On his way back to the boys, he sees Sally and Tits hooking up. Tits and Dodge later argue but when Tits' dad eventually dies they make up. Meanwhile, Zippy visits the nearby Catalyst Science Discovery Centre (at that point still called The Museum of the Chemical Industry). At the end of the movie it is shown that Tits and Sally are together and all the boys have moved on as school has finished. The ending scene shows Tits looking at Dodge from his window while Dodge walks down the lane with his guitar and bags.

Cast

Elliott Tittensor as Gary Tits Titchfield
Emilia Clarke as Sally "Cinnamon" Harris
Lesley Manville as Margaret Titchfield
Nico Mirallegro as Dodge
Jordan Murphy as Zippy
Adam Long as Little Gaz
Oliver Heald as Penfold
Chris Coghill as Uncle Hairy
Matthew McNulty as Ibiza Steve Titchfield
Nick Blood as Dave Famous
Michael Socha as Carl
Antonia Thomas as Lisa
Jodie Whittaker as Suzanne
Paul Popplewell as 'Roses Manager
Andrew Knott as Voodoo Ray
Rob James-Collier as Mr Milligan
Philip Jackson as Mr Jackson
Steve Evets as Eric Titchfield

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 43% based on 28 reviews; the average rating is 4.9/10.^[2] The 'Critics Consensus' on its Rotten Tomatoes page says: "Spike Island has energy and visual style to spare; unfortunately, they're lost within the movie's clichéd story and choppy direction."

Awards

Elliot Tittensor was nominated for Most Promising Newcomer for the 2012 British Independent Film Awards.^[3]

References

^ "Spike Island (2012) - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ "Spike Island (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
^ "Nominations 2012", British Independent Film Awards, retrieved 6 December 2014