A breakthrough movie for producer David Puttnam, though not director Claude Watham (the two men clashed during filming). It's not an obviously commercial story. I thought it was about a man who becomes a rock star because that's what the sequel was about and because David Essex plays the lead but he doesn't become a musician until the end.
It's a slice of life stuff in the school of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning but wasn't based on a best selling book. It hit a nostalgic sweet spot a la American Graffiti with a lot of songs and a frank attitude to sex.
Essex isn't a great actor, in some scenes seems awkward, but he has the looks and charisma. His character rapes someone - it's realistically done, date rape, but still rape, which makes him an uncomfortable hero. The atmosphere and recreation of the times is spot on (says I who never lived with it, but it feels authentic) - the seaside camps, the fairs, roller skating rinks. The ending feels true. It's a gutsy movie to make; maybe not so much back then.
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