RUDE BOY cannot be seen as a movie in any conventional sense; the plot, such as it is, is a bit thin, incidents are disconnected and incoherent and the central character is, to frank, a boring jerk.
The film comes across as a sort of retrospective for the class of '78. 'ahic was tae ver ollie ANaZ League, the Clash and punk rock.
ycal when through vagaries cumstances, and the hard work of LIC activist left, a lot found themselves on the fringes o1 politics.
Rude Boy opens with footage National Front Throughout the film there are clips of Anti-Nazi mobilisations, police MaSSLICEL. LIC Clash busted, and the like • Heroents that have little directly to do with the central character, Ray Grange.
It is Ray's story which provides the only peg on which to hang these events. wee une core o lic traces his progress, such as it is, from working in a porn bookshop, inrouen us Tallure as a roadle with the Clash, to his ultimate degeneranay Is a tall. gangling Clash fan, with roung shouders 0. ?
walks along, though searching ine pavement TOT Tag-enos. wears the regulation black leather jacket, khaki fatigues, and a hangmanently in his right hand.
He is the al veryone oldin Toppa (lash) gorks, out. on apparent reason hard to blame him - Headon stops hitting the bag and sets about Ray instead.
His situation isn't helped any disabities Raths the fact that besides In a notel room somewnere or tour, Joe be singer, is washing a T-shirt in a sink. Ray asks what message it carHolding it paRo shoving in te Brigate Rosse RAF (Red Army Fraction) symbol the chest.
the dankine restaurant, Ray. is informed, of cir- look people He is also something of a right winger by virtue of the fact that he identifies totally with the 'fucking Lally. Socialist Workers SusaMous acks As his alienation from everygetting right ward, eventually Becoming oes thing Ray fensive. to nis erstwnie fucking watching mate; we're fucking watching you', Mick Jones tells him.
Rude Boy adopts a documenanalysing, merely noting events as they The enormous ticulateness of its mair contoures to. ano enorasses unis Unfortunately talis documentary through its refusal to elaborate ally theme. doesn't have any pretensions to be It is simply a visual record of certain events which overiong al states.
STILLE Like myself. you although Is, aid sin fat to these quali could meet all these qualifications