One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is what I would call a Ficumentary - a fictional documentary. This is a very believable and engrossing story with stunning performances by Luke and Harry Treadaway. Their performance is both extreme and very subtle. I've never seen or felt so much from a simple glance. And the movie is so believable I went and looked the main characters - Tom and Barry Howe - up on the Internet convinced that they were real.As the movie progresses, and thank to the main actors Luke and Harry Treadaway, you can see the characters self-destructing before your eyes. The weigh of their lives bares down on them with ...well... unbearable weight.Both Luke and Harry Treadaway have gone on to do other separate movies. Harry Treadaway, as an example, was the lead in the movie "City of Ember".A fastinating and unique movie experience, and especially so for music fanatics.

Some people seem confused as to whether they are supposed to take the film seriously or not. Perhaps such people are going into it thinking in terms of the standard mockumentary format, satirical in an obvious form of comedy. That is, taking an idea to the extreme version of itself to point out the irony on the subject matter. This concept is certainly taken to the extreme as any good satire, but it does not rely on humor to get this point across. The approach used in this film is fresh and unique, exploring human exploitation without actually exploiting anyone. I was forced to look inside myself and find my own values and beliefs in this unconventional story and I commend the filmmakers for giving me the opportunity to do so. The messages are more subtle and require more participation than most satirical portrayals, so perhaps this is something people are not ready to do with this subject matter. If you think you might like a challenge, set yourself outside your comfort zone and see this movie. Decide for yourself, don't depend on the unfair opinions of those unprepared for the experience for what it is, not what they think it should be.

No major spoiler in this comment, but if you don't want to know much, don't read much. The two directors brought this film to Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre and their introduction was minimal, stating "Just open your mind". This was a very cleverly crafted movie that engages you early, teases you with hints of a classic rocker-style crash and burn tale, but never lets you know fully what is to come until it hits you. Creatively structured, you have a tale of mid 70's rockers, examined in real-time in a faux documentary, which allowed the film to have the story you're promised; yet includes actors portraying those same characters years later, commenting on the experience with the benefit of hindsight. This nuance not only keeps you intrigued, but also moves the plot-ball from cup to cup, keeping the storyline actively non-linear. The hook to this movie, besides sexy young conjoined twin rockers, is the documentary feel they achieve. The directors told the audience at the Egyptian that sets were built 360degrees, and the cinematographer acted like a real-time documentary cameraman, moving through the scenes naturally, which were never blocked. Scenes were rehearsed and improv was encouraged as long as the essence of the scene was preserved. All the sound and dialog is real-time; all the concert music is recorded real-time and the band is actually playing the music you're hearing. They mentioned that the boom-mic operator even dressed in costume to blend in with the crowd during club scenes. This builds a very believable feeling of reality rather than a corny set-up that easily happens when creating faux star docs.The story is well told and very engaging and it's worth seeing for that - but if you have any interest in the film-making process, this is a great study in new styles. The faux documentary style also allows for surprise celebrity cameo appearances.Definitely not a "happy" film, but hearing the produced soundtrack version of the music during the credits does add a lift at the end.

I saw this film at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. Based on a novella by science- fiction author Brian Aldiss, this film attempts to tell the story of Tom and Barry Howe, conjoined twins who are plucked from their family by an impresario in order to form a rock band.Almost deliberately gimmicky, the film is also too clever by half (if you'll pardon the pun). By mixing genres, styles and moods, the directors (whose previous film was the excellent documentary Lost In La Mancha) lose their way pretty quickly. I was never sure whether I was meant to take it all seriously or not. Flashbacks, dream sequences, it was all just a bit much. Plus, the promised rock and roll just didn't move me. I was reminded a bit too much at times of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a film I found original and moving. But in this case, the songs just weren't as good, nor were the main characters sympathetic. A more unfavourable comparison would be the similarly disappointing Velvet Goldmine.