After doing a festival run last year, “Good Vibrations“ is finally hitting U.K. & Ireland screens on March 29th, and the first trailer has been made available via Empire.
Set in Belfast in the ’70s at the height of The Troubles, “Good Vibrations” tells the story of Terri Hooley, Belfast’s “Godfather of Punk.” After opening up a record shop on the most bombed out half-mile in the city, Terri soon stumbles upon the underground punk rock scene led by the city’s disaffected youth. Enraptured by what he sees and hears, Terri becomes their unlikely leader as he puts on their concerts, takes them on tour and helps them release a few legendary gems on the way (most notably, “Teenage Kicks” by The Undertones).
The film has been charming critics and audiences worldwide throughout its festival appearances. Back in October when we caught it at LFF, we called it “touching & uplifting” and most who’ve seen it seem to agree (including Ron Howard and top U.K. critic Mark Kermode). Most of the attention has been deservedly paid to Richard Dormer‘s sublime performance as Terri, seamlessly capturing the character’s infectious enthusiasm as well as the aftermath of the recklessness that comes with it. All of that energy is readily apparent here in the trailer in bite-sized form.
The film doesn’t have a stateside release date yet, but here’s hoping that a successful U.K. run makes U.S. distributors sit up and take notice.
