Dirty dancehall...

Soulboy
Starring:Martin Compston, Felicity Jones, Alfie Allen
Director: Shimmy Marcus
Rating: 4 (out of 5)

Summary: Joe McCain (Martin Compston) is bored of a life that is going nowhere. Enter hair-dresser Jane (Nichola Burley) blonde, brassy and moving to the beat of a whole new world of sound, movement and all-nighter dancing at the Wigan Casino - home of Northern Soul...

Opening with a promotional video for Stoke on Trent circa 1974, you could be forgiven for thinking Soulboy is simply a rehash of feel good British comedies from the 90s which has arrived 15 years too late, but give it your time and you'll soon realise that this sweet natured coming of age drama is something much more.

Sure it's got the usual "grim up north" aesthetic of The Full Monty or Brassed Off but is able to lift itself out of the doldrums with the injection of a young, up and coming British cast who convincingly deliver sweat and tears through a hopeful hormonal haze. Leading man Martin Compston exudes all the boyish charm and brash nature of a youngster trying to find his feet in a world of routine binge drinking with his mates, whilst Felicity Jones as the lovelorn girl next door has the right measure of sweetness and anger to make us all nostalgic for the one that got away. With the cast playing so well off each other, the familiar boy meets girl narrative is played out with the renewed vigour that the genre deserves and sadly most of the time is bereft of in mainstream cinema.

If the simplicity of Soulboy's romantic plot seems too familiar to invigorate a well worn audience then the music and dance scenes are filmed and choreographed with such a kinetic energy that you can't help tap your feet - the cast again showing their versatile talents in and amongst the authentic dance hall of the Wigan Casino. As the classic American soul records are consumed to the rapturous applause and swivel spin moves of the pubescent masses and the cinema audience, Soulboy takes a rare wrong turn by attempting a drug dealing subplot which feels slightly out of place when everything else feels comfortingly familiar. Luckily this is simply a Macguffin to bring our feuding lovers together and the pace is changed as quickly as the strap on a Gola record bag - which looks like it was the must have accessory in 1974.

Soulboy may be seen as too twee, and dare I say it too British, when compared with recent hyped, steroid injected 3D dance extravaganzas like Step Up and its increasingly ridiculous sequels, but it has more honesty and realism in one finger click than they do in a row of body pops. The industrial towns of Stoke and Wigan may be as romantic as a power station chimney stack but Soulboy is destined to be a cult hit with audiences and young lovers for years to come.

Out 3rd September
www.soulboythefilm.com