Stoned Review

Director Stephen Wooley's biopic "Stoned" (which traces the life story of Brian Jones, the fifth member of The Rolling Stones) took over ten years to develop. But had Wooley spent a fraction of that time focussing on how to inspire his talent into putting in convincing performances, then perhaps "Stoned" could have been given 'epic' status. Instead, it falls sadly short of that mark.

From the outset, it is clear that "Stoned" is a typical biopic piece. Jones is painted as the real genius behind the Stones from the outset, being the band member who orchestrated the gigs and recording sessions. The story develops as the band gain success and Jones begins to focus his attentions more on the sex and the drugs than the rock 'n' roll. While the action takes the audience on a journey from London to the concert venues of Berlin and the desert hideaways of Morocco, most of the film is set in Jones' countryside retreat and centres on his personal battles with his long term partner Anita Pallenberg ("40 Days and 40 Nights" star Monet Mazur) and his drug addictions.

Unfortunately Leo Gregory fails to convince in the central role of Jones and - with the honourable exception of the fantastic Paddy Considine as a builder turned lodger at the Jones estate - the whole cast of the film disappoints.

However the film looks ravishing, with the successful use of 8mm, 16mm and 35mm stock to display the different time periods. Similarly the great attention paid to period detail ensures that the film succeeds in vividly recreating the swinging '60s' unique look. Overall though, "Stoned" is a disappointing film that could - and should - have delivered so much more, considering the effort that was put into making it.