A series of gregarious performances (including the last from Pete Postlethwaite) and some tongue-in-cheek narrative whimsy give Killing Bono a pleasing lift where it might have otherwise have fallen flat. The veteran writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, who previously wrote The Commitments, return to 1980s Dublin to deliver a loose and liberal adaptation of the music journalist Neil McCormick’s popular memoir. Here we meet the schoolboy protagonist and wannabe rock star Neil (Ben Barnes) and his younger naïve brother and lead guitarist, Ivan (Robert Sheehan). We follow their early musical competition with classmates Bono (Martin McCann, in a subtly conceited turn) and The Edge (Mark Griffin) from the future supergroup U2. Mostly we witness how Neil’s futile obsession with besting Bono drives his life, career and relationship with Ivan all the way to Hell and back — in this case London and then a ramshackle UK tour as the hopeless pop-rockers Shook Up.
It’s mostly silly stuff, but an appealingly gung-ho performance from Barnes (truly casting off his Narnia stiffs) and some vivid period recreation raise it above the ordinary.
Nick Hamm, 15 (114min)