Just for the record : even though we're informed at the very beginning of the movie that it's based on a true story, everyone who knows even a tiny bit about the dance music and club scene would find it fishy. The producers even went so far and created a couple of web sites about Frankie Wilde to fool the audience and attract extra attention to the film. So now that we've got that Frankie Wilde is a fictional character out of the way, let's get to the movie itself. After a brief word of praise for Frankie Wilde coming out of the mouths of some of the biggest DJ's and celebs, we're introduced to the life of debauchery and excess of the Ibiza superstar DJ, our dear Frankie. He's married to a woman leading the lifestyle much alike his, has a stepson of a different race, likes to swing and do drugs and alcohol in enormous quantities. But he's still on top, untouchable, and still a magnet to thousands of White Island's clubbers. Story is told in a form of intersects from people close to Frankie : his manager, the book writer and some more celebs and DJ's, they make an assertion and we get to see the segment right after. So Frankie eventually goes deaf from years of noise exposure and subsequently his marriage wrecks, the club scene leaves him behind and he's forced to start a new life - free of drugs and excess, learning to read lips and finding true love in a form of his ( also deaf ) teacher. Wilde goes out at the top of his game as he'd learned to feel the vibrations of the music through his body instead of plain hearing instrument, his ears. He plays one more gig, makes a killer track and....disappears from the public eye. The astonishing fact about "It's all gone Pete Tong" is it's gripping message. As a former DJ myself who knows what club music was before and the state of it now I can only give praise to the makers of the movie because between the lines there is a subtle message to all the clubbers and DJ's, sort of going back to basics word. It's not about the drugs, not about the alcohol, press attention or fame but about being in a club, feeling the vibe, feeling the bass going through your body, giving you shivers - it's a feeling of togetherness. All of those outside factors brought the scene to the today's low, with dance music being ridiculed by "serious" music journalists, reporters and fans. The acting is excellent with Pete Kaye as a lead lighting up the screen fighting his addictions and inner demons and finally finding the life's true meaning. The rest of the cast is not that important but doesn't do any wrong. Screenplay is sharp and directing floaty and impressive. If you're into dance music, clubs or just like British humor with a load of cynicism, don't't miss "Tongy". It's not Human Traffic but is not so far from it either....
Review of It's All Gone Pete Tong
