Remember how depressing Danny Boyle's TRAINSPOTTING gets near the end? The dead baby, AIDS, addition. Imagine a movie that starts with that dark tone and goes on from there and you're thinking of a film similar to EX DRUMMER.
What starts out like a fun-filled lark about three societal rejects starting up a band with writer Dries (Dries Van Hegen) on drums turns ash black before the credits are even over. As soon the band's singer brains a woman with a brick (for fun), we know that the good times are over. Sodomy, rape, and homophobia are used as punchlines in Koen Mortier's distasteful work. I was often curious if Mortier's script was collecting highlights of Herman Brusselmans's novel as the storyline often felt disjointed, giving the film the feel of driving down an unpaved road. Despite the subject matter and the "shocking for shock's sake" story, EX DRUMMER was visually interesting and managed to keep me in my seat (and my lunch in my stomach) for the entire duration.
What starts out like a fun-filled lark about three societal rejects starting up a band with writer Dries (Dries Van Hegen) on drums turns ash black before the credits are even over. As soon the band's singer brains a woman with a brick (for fun), we know that the good times are over. Sodomy, rape, and homophobia are used as punchlines in Koen Mortier's distasteful work. I was often curious if Mortier's script was collecting highlights of Herman Brusselmans's novel as the storyline often felt disjointed, giving the film the feel of driving down an unpaved road. Despite the subject matter and the "shocking for shock's sake" story, EX DRUMMER was visually interesting and managed to keep me in my seat (and my lunch in my stomach) for the entire duration.