The final days of one of the truly legendary figures of British rock & roll are explored in this biographical drama, which marks the directorial debut of veteran producer Stephen Woolley. Brian Jones (played by Leo Gregory) was one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones, and his incisive blues guitar style, broad range of musical influences, and striking blond good looks helped establish him as part of the true royalty of the British music scene. But by 1969, Jones' life had begun to
spiral out of control; his appetite for drugs made him wildly unreliable, his arrests for possession of marijuana prevented the Stones from touring the United States, his bandmates Mick Jagger (Luke de Woolfson) and Keith Richards (Ben Whishaw) had grown tired of working with him (and envious of the attention he received in the press), and his longtime paramour Anita Pallenberg (Monet Mazur) had become involved with fellow Stone Richards. Worried about Jones' drug abuse, the band's tour manager, Tom Keylock (David Morrissey), hires middle-aged carpenter Frank Thorogood (Paddy Considine) to do some repairs at Jones' estate, but also asks him to look after the musician and try to keep him away from dope. Keylock underestimates the power of Brian's personality, and before long, the straight-arrow Thorogood is Jones' household manservant and partner in hedonism, through Thorogood begins to chafe at the emotional games Jones enjoys playing with his new companion. Stoned was adapted in part from three different books on Brian Jones and the Rolling Stones as well as recently uncovered interviews with people who claim to have been involved in Brian Jones' death. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Leo Gregory's performance as Jones fails to capture his rebel charisma, and the film, like its subject, winds up all wet, floating without direction, and lifeless.
Played with such an utter lack of charisma by Leo Gregory, Jones comes across as a rocker so drug- and ego-addled he doesn't have enough sense to lie down.
A typical, but very effective chronicle of yet another man's downfall in the black hole that is fame through rock and roll, and the complacent enabling of his friends and family.
You can't exactly blame Jones for leading such a clichéd rock-star life. You can, however, blame director Stephen Woolley for making such a clichéd rock-star film.
I didn't know too much about the death of Brian Jones before watching this film, just had an interest in the music by The Rolling Stones, so it was an interesting watch. It didn't really show Brian Jones in a good light, I'm not quite sure how accurate this was? The focus really is on Brian Jones and Frank (a
character played by Paddy Considine), so fans of The Rolling Stones wanting to see this for music, may be slightly disappointed.
VERDICT: Interesting story, definitely worth a watch
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