by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
I can trace back certain parts of my high school life based on my friend Chris’ music taste. I’ve known him since I was in kindergarten, and his mom and dad were the pastors of the church we went to. We became really close friends when we were in middle school and high school. Chris has a very eclectic taste in music, so I remember vividly some of the eras in our relationship based on what band he was listening to. His Blink-182 phase came when I was a freshman in high school and we were riding the bus together to our freshman/sophomore campus. He then went to Green Day. He eventually went through a punk stage where he started going through some of the bands that put punk on the map. I remember he sang karaoke at a friend’s house and chose “Anarchy In The U.K.” Most people, including me, had no idea who originally had the song. This was my first introduction to the Sex Pistols.
Pistol, directed by Danny Boyle and based on the memoirs of Steve Jones, chronicles the rapid of rise of the Sex Pistols in England. The Sex Pistols helped revolutionize the punk genre of music, while creating a rabid fanbase of forgotten children who gravitated to the band’s rebellious and anarchistic notions. Jones (Toby Wallace) is one of the original band members and the guitarist for the Sex Pistols. Together with drummer Paul Cook (Jacob Slater), they are paired with lead singer John Lydon (Anson Boon), better known by his stage name Johnny Rotten, and bassist Sid Vicious (Louis Partridge). The miniseries chronicles their quick rise and fall on the music scene and how they changed music forever. Pistol is currently on Hulu and their partnership with FX.
I’ve read recently about some of the behind-the-scenes drama with this series and it’s a shame that it’s come to that. Lydon didn’t sign off on his likeness being used for this show, nor was he really involved. This type of production feels like something he wouldn’t have supported back in the 1970s anyway, so Im’ glad to see some things simply don’t change. I’m not a huge fan of a show not having their subject matter involved and proceeding forward anyway. I had a similar issue with Pam and Tommy when I found out that Pamela Anderson wasn’t involved. Although I did want to acknowledge the fact that Rotten didn’t sign off on his involvement, it ultimately won’t color my opinion of the show as a whole.
Boyle’s involvement made this something I really wanted to watch. He has such a great style and eye for shots that he is one of the more unique directors out there. What I like a lot about Boyle is that all his films feel different. He dabbles in a lot of different genres. His most recent film, Yesterday,showed what he could do in the music genre. Pistol feels a lot like a passion project. He doesn’t do miniseries that often, and it seems like he’s got a great relationship with FX since this is his second one with them. I immediately noticed the visual style, along with the full-screen aspect ratio similar to an old school tube TV. The style felt similar to how Winning Time on HBO was filmed. I really liked the authenticity of the look and the whole 1970s vibe. Some of Boyle’s trademarks are here. Scotland is mentioned a few times, and there were some pivotal moments involving bridges. Boyle does put his stamp on Pistol.
The story of the Sex Pistols is an interesting one. Although I was familiar with the band, I didn’t really know much of anything about them and how vital they were to introducing punk to the U.K. The structure is a linear story involving Jones’ passion to start a band. He felt a little lost in terms of what he was looking for musically and just personally. His encounter with Malcolm McLaren (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) starts as a partnership where Malcolm and Steve were working together; but Malcolm always seemed to have an agenda of chaos. Malcolm is one of the more interesting players in this story because he was more concerned about the movement rather than the music. Props to Brodie-Sangster for his performance as he sews literal anarchy in the U.K.
The other performances are generally fine. There were a few standout performances. Boon’s performance as Johnny Rotten was really great. I liked what he brought to the table and his overall evolution as a character. Credit to Boon for nailing the likeness and movements. The other standout was Chrissie Hynde (Sydney Chandler). She is a character who loves music. I loved her passion for music, but also betting and advocating for herself. She gets the short end of the stick multiple times, and she ends up being such a great driving force for the love of music. Shoutout to Chandler for her performance. Wallace gives a great performance as Steve Jones. The series is from his perspective, and it’s interesting seeing how he went from someone who couldn’t be a lead singer, to someone who had to learn the guitar super quick, to someone who learns to genuinely care about music.
One of the only real issues I had with the show is the lack of focus on Sid Vicious until the end. Sid Vicious is an icon for punk music and he doesn’t really come into focus that much until the final two episodes. He shows up from time to time as a fan, but isn’t folded into the band until the final two episodes. Partridge gives it his all with his performances but there’s just not enough of it. The Sid and Nancy storyline is well known at this point, so I suppose it was a good move to only focus on that for a smaller amount of time in order to focus more on the group as a whole. I wanted to see a little more of the influence the Sex Pistols had on the U.K. as a whole. They mention multiple times that not everything is okay in the U.K. I don’t think they truly changed much, but you can see some of the influence they had a few different ways, like with youth and other punk bands that came after them.
Pistol is a solid entry to the miniseries renaissance 2022 is having. It’s not perfect, but I felt it being a miniseries lent them a little more time to tell the story, versus doing a movie. Their story is messy and sad at times, but they set out to accomplish some things and they created change in the process. No wonder the Sex Pistols are regarded as one of the most influential bands of our time. Between Boyle’s style, the performances, and the music, this is one to recommend. This won’t be for everyone, but I can appreciate the story it told and how it was told.
Score: 6/10
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