Killing Bono

Yesterday I went to see the film Killing Bono, which is a sort-of biopic/comedy movie adapted from the memoir Killing Bono: I was Bono's Doppelgänger by Neil McCormick. The basic synopsis is the tale of Neil, played by Ben Barnes and his brother Ivan, Played by Robert Sheehan, who fail at becoming famous musicians while their classmates in U2 go on to become a huge success. I thought the storyline was quite funny, and I thought all the actors were very good, but the main reason I decided to review it here was because the beginning of the film was very well done.

The film starts with the end, which is quite a popular method of storytelling in many movies, but it was only from one character's perspective, while at the end the clips are shown from a normal viewpoint, so you know who Neil is talking to. It's difficult to describe fully without screenshots, but I thought it was an unusual way of starting the film, and certainly draws the viewer in, adding mystery and intrigue. Overall, I found it was a very good film, and you don't really have to be much of a U2 fan to enjoy it. Here are some of the posters and promotional images from the film.

Something else notable about the film, was that it features the late Pete Postlethwaite, in his final role, playing the boys' homosexual landlord.