Bolan’s Shoes – Release News
Foot-stomping, heart-wrenching feature set against the 1970s glitz of glam-rock and T. Rex mania tells a powerful tale of tragedy and the life-affirming, enduring power of music
Starring:
Timothy Spall (Mr Turner, Secrets & Lies)
Leanne Best (A Town Called Malice, Young Wallander), Mark Lewis Jones (Gangs of London, Men Up) andMathew Horne (Bad Education, Gavin & Stacey)
‘Hats off to Ian Puleston-Davies for a film that is dark in many ways but, ultimately, if you’ll forgive my own oblique glam-rock reference, positively sweet’
‘So persuasive is Best’s performance that you almost don’t notice writer-director Ian Puleston-Davies stacks the revelation of yet another tragic horror atop the pile… Spall is every bit as good… he keeps the performance tight, projecting not just Jimmy’s damaged psyche but also his wit’
The Guardian
The Film
Following its acclaimed theatrical run, it’s time to twist and shout and let it all hang out as Bolan’s Shoes – a foot-stomping, heart-wrenching, powerful drama on childhood trauma, family, loneliness and the power of glam-rock – gets its digital release courtesy of 101 Films.
Written and directed by Coronation Street star Ian Puleston-Davies andexec-produced by the singer’s son Rolan Bolan, the film stars a cast of revered British acting talent, who have received plaudits galore for their performances. The Arts Desk said ‘Leanne Best creates a poignant and sparky character… Timothy Spall’s Jimmy is a wonder’ andRadio Times commented ‘Spall plays the bearded loner with affecting subtlety, but it’s Best’s layered performance as a middle-aged woman clinging to decades-old secrets that leaves a lasting impression’.
It’s 1970s Liverpool and T. Rex mania is at its peak. We join a group of over-excited, under privileged kids from a local children’s’ home on a coach on their way to a once-in-a-lifetime trip… a T. Rex concert. But what starts out with exhilaration and the unbridled euphoria of experiencing Marc Bolan’s magic first-hand ends in unimaginable devastation… a road accident that will change their lives forever.
Many years later, we meet two of the children, the Simmons siblings, (Spall and Best) – who, now grown up, have been navigating their lives separately, in completely different worlds.… But on a pilgrimage to London with her best friend, to visit the shrine of her idol Marc Bolan, a chance encounter reunites Penny with her long-lost brother Jimmy. Reconnecting with her struggling sibling, brings back the horror of an experience Penny has tried so desperately to forget. Can the pair rebuild their troubled lives and become a family again?
With a storming soundtrack of T. Rex hits, a healthy dose of humor and the backdrop of vibrant 70s Liverpool and rugged, rural Anglesey, the film balances tragedy and comedy with elan and is a joyful celebration of 1970s culture. It brims with the energy of this vibrant era, but, like Marc Bolan’s legacy, its retro glitter is dimmed by tragedy.
Step into Bolan’s Shoes this March for an inspiringly powerful journey of enduring trauma and the life-affirming power of music.
Released on digital 18 March 2024