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HERE TO BE HEARD – THE STORY OF THE SLITS | FILM REVIEW
***
Dir: William A Badgley
Starring: Tessa Pollitt, Viv Albertine, Ari Up, Palmolive
(UK, certification tbc, 1hr 25 mins)
Hailed as one of the most influential punk bands of all time, what made the Slits stand out was the fact that they were female. In a time where the men in suits ruled all (and still do, but that’s another story) the Slits made more than just music against that; they made a movement, redefining what it meant to be female.
Here to Be Heard really captures the chaos that followed the life of a punk band at the time; sleeping where you landed and sharing squats. It’s hard to reconcile the Slits’ lasting legacy with what would have been their every day living conditions. When bassist Tessa Pollitt talks about how exciting it was for her to break down boundaries, it’s easy to forget that she was only 16 and when the film cuts to footage of a car being beaten apart by the band, I feel my own post-adolescent-weariness inside me roll its eyes and wonder – what exactly the true rebellion is, in destroying a car? But founding member Ari Up was only 14 when the band was formed. They were just kids at the time. And everyone’s a bit of a dick at 14.
However truthful, the low-budget film (made for $14,000) is distractingly amateur. There are several beautiful close ups scattered throughout but they jar overwhelmingly against the bad lighting and shaky camera work that make up the rest of the film. The narrative structure is a little weak at the beginning but solidifies around the point of the band’s break up, bringing emotion to the forefront of the story and finally fully engaging the viewer. Pollitt’s slightly off-beat character is explained, which would have been better perhaps earlier on as the view from behind the screen really shifts when she does, significantly, and the vulnerability of these women when they were just girls is really brought home.
What’s most interesting is where these women have ended up, though. If punk was such a worthy cause, surely it should last? Albertine felt the movement to be naive and aggressive in hindsight, says: “we were those rebels. And we still are.” Ari Up’s fall from punk was irrevocable which, affected Pollitt deeply, but by far the most seemingly oppositional is Palmolive, who became a born-again Christian. It certainly gives you pause as you watch Paloma Romero walk through the doors of a church: through the doors of “establishment.” One wonders what punk truly stood for, the integrity of it all.
But Romero’s message upon closure is not of the naïvity Albertine refers to, but one rinsed with undeniable wisdom: Freedom doesn’t come from religion or being in a band, she says, it comes from inside your heart. She’s liberated. Her words leaving the lasting question that punk always posed – can you be a part of something bigger than yourself and still remain free? And what does being “free” truly mean?
words RUTH SEAVERS
Here to be Heard is out now in cinemas and is playing at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff from Fri 6 to Thu 12 Apr