Punk

There are three types of scene in ‘Johnny Mad Dog’ director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s new music-heavy melodrama. In the first, teenage rebel Paul (newcomer Paul Bartel) runs riot with his punk pals through Parisian streets, drinking and fucking and getting into fights with skinheads. In the second, Paul argues with his domineering mother (Béatrice Dalle), while the third type sees him snorting coke with his boxing coach, Fauti (Carlos Lopez). With very little deviation, this is the entire movie – there’s no real plot or attempt at character development – and the sheer repetitiveness and lack of momentum quickly becomes frustrating. The film looks nice and the performances are solid, particularly from Bartel as the pretty boy with a bad attitude. But for a film about teenage rebellion, ‘Punk’ is awfully safe, and disappointingly dull.