The Knack...and How to Get It movie review- The Mod movie of the 60s

 Girls, sex and the 60s, what could go wrong?

Director: Richard Lester 

Writer: Charles Wood

Cinematographer: David Watkin

Cast: Rita Tushingham, Ray Brooks, Michael Crawford, Donal Donnelly

Year: 1965

Desperate to improve his success with women, awkward schoolteacher Colin (the mesmerising Michael Crawford) enlists his odd artist roommate Tom (the fantastic Donal Donnelly), to help drag an old brass bed back to their flat as he believes it will entice more women into his life. Along the way, they meet the shy and confused Nancy (the exquisite Rita Tushingham), the new girl in town who follows them back home. There they encounter the charming Tolen (the outstanding Ray Brooks), the third roommate who is a renowned womaniser and Casanova.  Tolen tries to help Colin seduce Nancy, but instead, Tolen ends up whisking her away on a motorcycle for himself, leaving Colin determined to get her back. 

The Knack is a 1965 British comedy film based on the play by Ann Jellicoe. It won the Palme d'Or at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and the Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association. 

The Knack emerges, for me, as a serious contender as the film which best defines and captures the atmosphere of the sixties in London. As a product of its time, it portrays a nostalgic image of 'swinging London' that so dominated the media at that time. Today, The Knack appears to be an attempt at understanding the changing landscape; as a piece of contemporary filmmaking, it manages to capture the essence and spirit of the 60s perfectly. But what distances me from this movie is the fact that it doesn't make any sense at all. The 60s were a period of rapid political and social change. It was an age of lunar landing pretensions, cold war tension and the increasing freedom of teenagers in both power and sex. There is no debate that The Knack was and still remains an extremely stylish movie, rooted in the modish time it displays. It's a time capsule that transports you back to the 'swinging sixties'.  As an art-house mid-sixties film, it took risks and made impressions.  Shot in black and white with its mod stylish, non sequitur and wacky antics and rapid-fire editing, Lester effectively uses this style to provide a parody of early 1960s sexism, conformity and consumerism. The cinematography from Watkin's is beautiful and draws you in; I sometimes found it hard to take my eyes off the screen. Even though the movie may seem comedic and wacky, if you whittle it down, Lester says something serious about human relationships in the 60s. 

The entourage of principal actors: Crawford, Tushingham, Donnelly and Brooks, all give magnificent performances, grabbing your attention every second they are on screen. Lester's direction was exceptional, even if the film is hard to wrap your head around. The locations, featuring some rather drab and grimy-looking parts of the city, look all the seedier due to the decision to film on monochrome film. This was particularly experimental and brave, considering the sixties being stereotypically seen as colourful and vibrant. John Barry's playful score of mischievous jazz-tinged pop from the 60s adds to the overall high-spirited and roguish ambience. I'm absolutely obsessed with the score; I've been listening to it nonstop since I watched the movie, and I have to admit it is one, or if not the best, movie score I have ever listened to. Without the score, The Knack wouldn't be The Knack; the score transforms it and adds even more to the playfulness of the 60s mod culture shown on screen. Even though The Knack is a silly and scatterbrained tale about the lustful pursuits of sexual conquests, it certainly leaves you more confused than you were before. With The Knack being over 50 years old, it is indeed dated, but it still gives you an insight into such a different and alien time. Even though on my first watch, I was left utterly confused, I could not stop thinking about the movie. I have watched it relentlessly, trying to figure out what exactly I'm watching.  Out of frustration and admiration for how Lester could make me so confused, I went to my grandmother for some explanations. In her own words, it is the "Mod movie of the 60s"; it doesn't have to mean anything; it just had to be funny, sleek and stylish and cater to the younger generation, which was growing up in such an uncertain and colourful time. Imagining my grandmother lining up to watch this movie confused to even more. Yet, in the end, the movie is just a piece of nostalgia for her, which I can agree with. As I kept watching, I fell in love just a little bit more with it. However absurd and out there the movie was, I became accustomed to what I was witnessing on screen and felt a deep warmth for the time it was set. The interjections of scenes where older generations were being interviewed about the younger generation at first confused me, but after all, this film is a commentary on change and human relationships. To see such a similar divide that we have now made this aspect of the film feel all too real. Even though it feels completely separate and throws you off completely out of your immersion, I think it's an extremely clever addition to such an odd film. It's a historically significant film, showcasing the 60s for what it really was: weird yet oddly lovable and charming. 

I don't know if I would recommend this movie or not. If you're into movies that will leave you utterly confused or kooky movies from the 60s that give you an insight into the culture, I would recommend it. If you're expecting some formulaic, coherent movie about the mod lifestyle of the 60s, you'd be disappointed. There really isn't any plot, and what's left of it is forgotten halfway through the film. I do have a soft spot for the 60s, and even though this movie left me confused and frustrated, I could not stop coming back to it. It almost feels like some weird lucid dream. Maybe I kept coming back to it because I wanted to really figure it out, or maybe it was just because of how weird it was. It's an experience, and if you want to experience something extremely wildly different from mainstream movies, this may be the movie for you. It's eccentric, experimental, quirky and puzzling. It's the 60s in 1hr and 25m. 

Rating: 3.5/5

Favourite quotes: 

"That's what we need in this house- a real steadying influence... A monk! There must be monks, or older men who are accountants. Poor old men, in sexless professions" 

"Little did his pupils realise that beneath the handsome exterior of their tall, fair-haired, blue-eyed, school teacher, there lived the heart of the beast, lusting for the blood of innocent virgins."

"It's not like that; it's an exaggeration! He has just got a certain success with the ladies- that's all"

"Skirt is meat"