Sid and Nancy (1986) dir, Alex Cox

Rating: 4.5/5

Most everybody knows the story of Sid and Nancy by now- bassist of British punk band The Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious fell in love with American groupie Nancy Spungen. Their heroin-fueled, violent and obsessive relationship saw the collapse of The Sex Pistols, Sid's solo career, their friendships, and ultimately, themselves.
This is the kind of story people do not care for- they see nothing worth pity or remorse in a couple of 'junkies.' At least not on the surface. But Alex Cox's chilling biographical presents 'a couple of junkies' who are very much troubled, and very much in love. It goes beyond the leather-and-chains image, to the deep, raw depths of Sid and Nancy, suitably lacking modesty.
Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman in his performance of recognition) and his best friend Johnny Rotten (Andrew Schofield) are up-and-coming punk pioneers, with their band The Sex Pistols, and enjoy partying hard when they're not playing shows. At one of these parties, their claustrophobic sleeping arrangement is infiltrated by bleach-blonde groupie Nancy, who is desperately trying to bed them. Johnny storms off, leaving Sid lying next to his not-so-secret admirer.
Later, Johnny looks on disgusted as Nancy injects herself and Sid with heroin, before having sex in his bed. This is the point from which everything is downhill. 

Despite the beginning of the relationship being somewhat casual, they become an inseparable couple, and Nancy immediately starts acting as his pushy 'manager.' Perhaps this is what Sid needs? Perhaps, except Nancy is very loud, and very aggressive, and succeeds in scaring off pretty much everyone she crosses. The band hate her and what she has done to their bassist, but the couple are joined at the hip.

Chloe Webb is a magnificent Nancy. Early on, she comes off as very annoying, her New York accent caterwauls as she scrambles around in the dirt in broken heels. She is captivating, yet repellent, and very unstable. During a tense scene in a crummy phone booth, she calls her parents for money to fund their ever-growing heroin habit, only to be told they can't/won't help her. As she starts to see where the conversation is going, she visibly grows frustrated, and frighteningly snaps, smashing the glass of the phone booth, before collapsing onto the street screaming. Her anguish is painfully heartfelt, and we really feel for her, while recoiling nervously from the sudden outburst.

Gary Oldman in his dramatic breakthrough role as Sid Vicious makes a true embodiment of the man himself. He naturally takes us through so many emotions: we laugh when he grabs a banana with his teeth from the crotch of a guy swinging on a doorframe, we exhaustively sigh as Nancy screams at us for being so fucking weak, an invisible chain chokes us as he lies in the fetal position screaming, realizing what happened in that hotel room. One of the most pitiful sequences shows Sid, playing a small club show to an empty room, absolutely hammered, reading the lyrics off a piece of paper, and eventually he can't even be bothered to stand up. The scene is tear-jerking in how shamefully far Sid has fallen. Now proclaimed one of the best actors ever, it is easy to see how this demonstration of his abilities led to great things for Gary Oldman. 

Each scene uses mise-en-scene appropriately and creatively. The concerts are sweaty, noisy, chaotic and somewhat dazzling. The prison cell floor is rock hard and icy cold. The methadone clinic is suitably beige and sterile, with an air of condescension. "What right y'all got to be strung out on that junk?" the sagely administrator demands. But it's way beyond right. It's need.