James McAvoy Hits All the Right Notes With a Funny, Soulful Directorial Debut

The first half of the film bounces between cheeky energy, montages, and comical set pieces before sliding into dark paranoia, with cracks starting to emerge. That type of tonal shift is hard to manage in a debut, but McAvoy pulls it off by never losing sight of his characters, structuring the film as a character study in some ways. He knows when to step back and let Ross and Bottomley carry the emotional weight, and when to punch up the absurdity, so the bigger themes don’t get too heavy. McAvoy never makes a joke out of the real-life young men; instead, he treats their story with empathy, showing that while the accents were fake, their music and ambition were always real.

8/10

Via Collider