Stoned (2005)

15% of critics liked it
(47 reviews)
43% of users liked it
(22,034 ratings)

The final days of one of the truly legendary figures of British rock & roll are explored in this biographical drama, which marks the directorial debut of veteran producer Stephen Woolley. Brian Jones (played by Leo Gregory) was one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones, and his incisive… More The final days of one of the truly legendary figures of British rock & roll are explored in this biographical drama, which marks the directorial debut of veteran producer Stephen Woolley. Brian Jones (played by Leo Gregory) was one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones, and his incisive blues guitar style, broad range of musical influences, and striking blond good looks helped establish him as part of the true royalty of the British music scene. But by 1969, Jones' life had begun to spiral out of control; his appetite for drugs made him wildly unreliable, his arrests for possession of marijuana prevented the Stones from touring the United States, his bandmates Mick Jagger (Luke de Woolfson) and Keith Richards (Ben Whishaw) had grown tired of working with him (and envious of the attention he received in the press), and his longtime paramour Anita Pallenberg (Monet Mazur) had become involved with fellow Stone Richards. Worried about Jones' drug abuse, the band's tour manager, Tom Keylock (David Morrissey), hires middle-aged carpenter Frank Thorogood (Paddy Considine) to do some repairs at Jones' estate, but also asks him to look after the musician and try to keep him away from dope. Keylock underestimates the power of Brian's personality, and before long, the straight-arrow Thorogood is Jones' household manservant and partner in hedonism, through Thorogood begins to chafe at the emotional games Jones enjoys playing with his new companion. Stoned was adapted in part from three different books on Brian Jones and the Rolling Stones as well as recently uncovered interviews with people who claim to have been involved in Brian Jones' death. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: Stephen Woolley
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Oct 18, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Jul 4, 2006
Studio: Screen Media Films

Critic Reviews

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Leo Gregory's performance as Jones fails to capture his rebel charisma, and the film, like its subject, winds up all wet, floating without direction, and lifeless.
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Even The Doors looked like a model of clarity next to this.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
A flat riff on Jones's short life. You'll get the highlights but no sense of what made him special -- or what really haunted him.
Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle
Almost so bad it's good. Almost.
John Anderson, Newsday
Played with such an utter lack of charisma by Leo Gregory, Jones comes across as a rocker so drug- and ego-addled he doesn't have enough sense to lie down.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
With its low budget, unadventurous script and notable lack of any Stones recordings it has the look and feel of a TV movie.
Lewis Beale, Film Journal International
Except for copious amounts of male and female nudity, Stoned has absolutely nothing to recommend it.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
Never finds a way to interest us in what made Jones tick.
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times
Thorogood apparently confessed, on his deathbed, to murdering Jones, but the movie doesn't give us much of a clue why.
Frank Ochieng, Movie Eye
...a lacking rock-n-roll biopic that has more disjointed disillusionment than a muddy Woodstock hippie.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
I would rather be stoned than have to watch Stoned.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Film Threat
A typical, but very effective chronicle of yet another man's downfall in the black hole that is fame through rock and roll, and the complacent enabling of his friends and family.
Ethan Alter, Premiere Magazine
You can't exactly blame Jones for leading such a clichéd rock-star life. You can, however, blame director Stephen Woolley for making such a clichéd rock-star film.
Miles Fielder, Empire Magazine
More than just another dead-celeb biopic, this is an effective evocation of the era in which Jones lived and died.
David Elliott, San Diego Union-Tribune
This is one of the worst of the year -- both '06 and '66.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lady D

I didn't know too much about the death of Brian Jones before watching this film, just had an interest in the music by The Rolling Stones, so it was an interesting watch. It didn't really show Brian Jones in a good light, I'm not quite sure how accurate this was? The… More
I didn't know too much about the death of Brian Jones before watching this film, just had an interest in the music by The Rolling Stones, so it was an interesting watch. It didn't really show Brian Jones in a good light, I'm not quite sure how accurate this was? The focus really is on Brian Jones and Frank (a character played by Paddy Considine), so fans of The Rolling Stones wanting to see this for music, may be slightly disappointed. VERDICT: Interesting story, definitely worth a watch
Burger S

Any Rolling Stones fan should see this.