Jubilee (1978)

Directed by Derek Jarman. Starring Jenny Runacre, Toyah Willcox, Pamela Rooke, Little Nell, Richard O’Brien, Hermine Demoriane, Ian Charleson, Karl Johnson, Jack “Orlando” Birkett, Linda Spurrier, David Haughton, Adam Ant, Jayne County.

Here’s a premise for you: a court astronomer/occultist transports Queen Elizabeth I a few hundred years into the future, landing in a decaying vision of 70s London overrun by fascist authorities and anarchic punks. However, this isn’t a sci-fi mindbender or fish-out-of-water/famous-figure-out-of-time story; in fact, the Elizabethan framing sequences hardly matter to the proceedings at all! Budgetary limitations don’t short-change on derelict exteriors or in-your-face fashion statements, but even though this virtually plot-free series of shapeless and juvenile events offers up a few pointed satirical critiques and nihilistic scenes of deconstructed destruction, it’s also a slack mess with too little message or momentum. Amateurish acting runs rampant—how many of these characters seem like if Poly Styrene or Steve Jones had appeared in either a John Waters 70s semi-guerrilla production or The Rocky Horror Picture Show?—although Jack Birkett (also known as “Orlando”) leaves an outsized impression as a punk rock impresario. Several real-life punk rockers make appearances, ranging from supporting castmates like Adam Ant and Jayne County to cameos from Siouxsie Sioux and the Slits, so at least you know the soundtrack is gonna be good. The eventual cult following was guaranteed before the film ever screened.

59/100