If that sounds like very little to build a movie around, well, you're right, as the film is rather a disjointed mess with none of the scenes seeming to have little or anything to do with each other. One could make the argument that director Lommel was trying to create the sense of directionless and nihilism suggested by the movie's title by showing us the characters' own lack of purpose through these scenes. However there is so little of real substance within them, as an audience we quickly lose interest in what's going on with the characters.
As compensation of a sorts there are some great shots of New York City in the late 1970s - the movie was actually shot in 1977-78, even though it wasn't released until 1980 - including footage shot in CBGBs of Richard Hell and The Voidoids in concert. While we never see the band for more than a few moments at a time, the scenes inside the bar are great as they capture the look and feel of it wonderfully. In fact Edward Lachman's cinematography is one of the best things about the movie. He has captured the rundown feel of New York at the end of the late '70s perfectly with its dirty buildings, cracked sidewalks, and general air of abandonment. People may not remember, but there was a time in the mid-1970s when New York City came close to declaring bankruptcy, and the film captures the depression and decay of the city at the time.
As for the music in the film, snippets of four of Hell and The Voidoids' songs are played underneath much of the film's activity - with "Blank Generation" being used most often. I assume it was the director's not so subtle way of reminding us what the movie is supposedly about by playing the song as some sort of emphasis, but it starts to become a bit of a joke after a while. It's rather unfortunate, because Hell's music is very good, and a great example of the energy and intelligence that typified the best aspects of punk rock. However, here the music has been trivialized. The incidental music, on the other hand, is one of the other bright spots of the movie, as it works really well with the cinematography to create atmosphere and set the mood of the piece. It turns out it was one of the first soundtracks composed by future Oscar winner Elliot Goldenthal. I think it tells you something of the film's quality when the soundtrack is one of its most memorable parts, but it also says quite a bit about Goldenthal's abilities that he was able to create something as interesting as he did with so little to work with.
Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
As someone who saw Richard Hell and The Voidoids in those days in New York, this article was an enjoyable read. Thank you.