A daft biopic about the young Morrissey that paints the singer-songwriter as a sort of pre-Hogwarts Harry Potter.
Shy, bespectacled Steven Patrick Morrissey (Jack Lowden) dreams of having his gifts recognised while being persecuted by conventional Mancunians who think he should get a “proper” job and a girlfriend. After a nasty bout of depression he finds a way to put such muggles in their place.
The whole point about (the real) Morrissey is his love-hate relationship with mainstream northern life. The film’s hate-hate stance isn’t nearly as interesting.
Morrissey smiles, a lot, in the presence of pretty, arty punk Linder (Jessica Brown-Findlay). Meanwhile, his friendship with frumpy, down-to-earth Anji (Katherine Pearce) is quickly dismissed. Anji gets another, tiny mention at the end, when Morrissey accidentally discovers her in a hospital bed, dying of cancer. In real life Morrissey never lost touch with Anji, who rang him to say she had six weeks to live. This flimsy film inadvertently makes the singer look shallow.
Lowden is inoffensive and forgettable in the lead role. Morrissey (who refused to authorise the project, hence the lack of Morrissey quotations, or even a bar of music from The Smiths) can rest easy. He’s still the one and only Moz.
Cert 15, 94 mins
England is Mine, in pictures
