Stoned

Directed by Stephen Wooley

Screen Media Films LLC

4 stars

It’s hard to remember a time when the Rolling Stones weren’t four fossils in leather pants with titles in the peerage and three-digit ticket prices. In “Stoned,” Stephen Wooley’s directorial debut, he recounts the hedonistic early days of the Stones and the rapid rise and precipitous fall of founding member and guitarist Brian Jones, played by Leo Gregory (“Green Street Hooligans”).

Jones’ short life was a rock and roll archetype, perfect fodder for a movie full of beautiful women, glamorous drugs, and destructive arguments. “Stoned” is set in the final tumultuous months of Jones’ life, a time during which he withdrew into the private world of his Sussex mansion. He essentially abandons the band for the companionship of his girlfriend, Anna Wohlin (Tuva Novotny, “Bang Bang Orangutang”) and the renovator of his house, Frank Thorogood (Paddy Considene, “Cinderella Man”). This period of Jones’ self-imposed exile came to an abrupt halt when he was mysteriously found floating in his pool, dead.

The characters of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and the rest of the Rolling Stones are peripheral in the film, appearing mainly in flashbacks to the band’s early days. They only appear once in the film’s present, when they arrive at Jones’ house to fire him for his unreliable and uncontrollable behavior.

Instead, the film’s minimal plot centers on the alternately tense and tender relationship between Jones and Thorogood. Thorogood is the central figure of the last phase of Jones’ life: his constant companion, a witness to the unraveling that led to his split with the band, and possibly his killer.

This relationship unfolds against the carefully constructed backdrop of the 1960s. Wooley seems as interested in evocations of the era as he is in story telling. The film is just about as sex-obsessed and drug-crazed as Jones was—most of the characters are on their way to or from nakedness during most of the film, and time passes in psychedelic montages.

Unfortunately, these scenes quickly begin to blur together. There are only so many depictions of debauchery that we can take before we grow as frustrated by Jones’ antics as Jagger and Richards did.

Jones himself fits into the nostalgic that characterizes the entire film. He is an embodiment of lost innocence, a figure whom Wooley depicts as boyish even as his skin grows leathery and the wrinkles on his face deepen. Jones’ home is the former residence of A.A. Milne, and he radiates childish joy as he wanders the gardens, thinking about the residents of Pooh Corner. Wooley loves these moments of vulnerability, and Gregory shows Jones’ emotional neediness well: it’s easy to see why Jones always gets a second chance. Although Considene appears somewhat stiff as Thorogood, this only serves to heighten the contrast between the flighty, flamboyant rock star and the reserved and socially awkward builder.

The camera focuses so tightly on Jones and Thorogood that the female actresses fade into the background. Monet Mazur (“Monster-in-Law”) as Anita Pallenberg, mistress of many band members, and Novotny both take decent turns, but neither endows her leggy blonde character with much individuality.

The film’s main shortcoming is its limping soundtrack. In the time period during which the film covers, Jones participated in the sessions for “Aftermath,” “Beggar’s Banquet,” and “Let it Bleed,” three of the greatest albums in rock and roll history. Unfortunately, none of that music appears in the film and its absence leaves a gaping hole.

BOTTOM LINE: With an intense dramatic narrative and plenty of rock and roll glamour, “Stoned” achieves a rare balance of substance and style.