Written and directed by Chris Green
Starring Patrick McNamee, Sacha Parkinson, Patsy Kinset
Runtime: 1 hour and 41 minutes
On demand and digital November 16

by Whitley Albury, Staff Writer

The basic summary of The Pebble and The Boy (named after the Paul Weller song that I literally just discovered) truly doesn’t do the film justice, but believe me when I say, “Watch it.”

John’s (Patrick McNamee) father dies in a moped accident. The film opens on honestly a beautiful funeral scene, with a casket surrounded by flowers that spell out MOD and a moped procession. I’ll admit, I knew nothing about the late 70s/early to mid 80s mod revival until this movie, but you don’t really need to know about it to understand the core of the story. Basically, think punks but a little more business casual?

John inherits his father’s own amazing moped (with roughly 18 mirrors and 5 headlights. This thing is a beast) and his record collection. Once he gets his father’s ashes, he has a brilliant idea: why not spread those ashes in Brighton, the home of the mods? And, even better, why not ride to Brighton on Dad’s moped? To put it in perspective, John lives in Manchester. And, according to Google Maps, that’s a little less than five hours by car. But this is a moped, so...add some time onto that. What could possibly go wrong?

Answer: everything. John tells his mother (Christine Tremarco) his plan, and she discourages him. So, like any good teenager, he ignores her and does it anyway. He ends up at his father’s friend, Jules’ (Julian Clapton), house. He also meets Jules’ daughter, sweet, darling Nicky (Sacha Parkinson), a total badass after my own heart. She learns about his mission and steals her father’s moped, encouraging John every step of the way.

The whole trip, John learns more about his father, and more about himself. And it hits every single perfect road trip movie note. You’ve got loveable characters, with a clear goal, and obstacles that aren’t necessarily end-of-the-road but understandably disheartening. And the soundtrack. I’m a sucker for a good soundtrack, and shout out to Chris Green for building the soundtrack as a Spotify playlist, because it slaps. The Jam, The Electric Stars, The Chords? *chef’s kiss* It’s so, so good. Once a mod, always a mod, and thanks again to Chris Green for giving me another UK subculture to dive into.