Good Vibrations review

A poignant tribute to a punk hero

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Pogoing into view with a big grin, some top tunes and period punch aplenty, Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn’s likeable but flawed biopic of a ’70s Belfast punk hero stands and stumbles on its charm levels.

In a breakout turn, Richard Dormer is optimism incarnate as Terri Hooley, a record-store owner who used music to spur a troubled generation.

His charm is winning, but it backs the film into a corner: the stress on uplift sidelines Hooley’s neglect of his wife (Jodie Whittaker) and kid, hitting a bum note in an otherwise persuasively buoyant tribute to a punk believer.

Freelance writer

Kevin Harley is a freelance journalist with bylines at Total Film, Radio Times, The List, and others, specializing in film and music coverage. He can most commonly be found writing movie reviews and previews at GamesRadar+.