Movies Reviews

Who Killed Nancy? – Movie Review

By Ron Wilkinson Jul 30, 2010, 14:46 GMT

On October 12th 1978 New York Police discovered the lifeless body of Nancy Spungen, an ex-prostitute, heroin addict, and girlfriend of Sex Pistols\' bassist Sid Vicious. She was dressed in her underwear and had bled to death from a stab wound.   Vicious was pronounced guilty before noon the following day. But the case never had the chance to be brought to trial, and a number of New York cops weren\'t convinced. Less ...more

The film is as much about who killed Sid Vicious as who killed Nancy Spungen, but an enthralling and touching story all around.

It is only about half way through this remarkable film that the Nancy Spungen topics replace the Sid Vicious topics. But let’s face it, Vicious, even in death, is much more interesting than Nancy ever was. The back-story is that Spungen was found dead in the apartment she shared with Sid in 1978 in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan.

Vicious was arrested for the crime, released on bail raised by friends, and those who stood to profit from his promising musical career, and returned to the throbbing party scene in New York City’s downtown.

Less than six months later he was dead of a heroin overdose; another victim of the excesses of the New York pop life in the burgeoning drug scene of the late 1970’s.

So much for the history. What we see on screen is a detailed recounting of one of the most excessive, repulsive, lethal and amazing life styles ever recorded, as Sid Vicious, front man for the iconic Sex Pistols rock band, slowly crucified himself in public.

As the point of the film finally creeps out of the woodwork in the last 20 minutes or so, the viewer comes to understand that not only was Nancy’s death never explained, it was never even investigated. After Sid died, the case was closed. Two dead junkies - on to more pressing matters. 

The story is nothing if not an amazing set of first accounts of the trials and tribulations of dedicated drug addiction. Although Vicious was the only person ever accused in the stabbing murder, in the film he is reported to have downed some 30 Tuinals the night Nancy was found dead in their room (This is also noted In “Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk” by Eliot Kidd).

The considered opinion is that a person who has downed thirty "rainbows” (a potent combination of barbiturates secobarbital and amobarbital discontinued by Eli Lilly in the 1970s because the vast majority of sales was to abusers) would be unable to scratch their nose, let alone find a knife, drag someone down and stab them.

In any event, the murder was summarily investigated, Sid was charged and the party went on. Filmmaker Alan Parker interviews an amazing array of Sid’s former band members; both the Sex Pistols and his back-up band after the SPs threw him out. There are also a few of Nancy’s friends interviewed, although Nancy’s friends turn out to be scarce and hen’s teeth.

When she and Sid got together, she had apparently won the national election on woman most likely to cause depression, drug addiction, open sores and death for every man she kissed. She had kissed more than a few but Sid would be the last.

After the last of the coke has been snorted, the pills have been taken and the whiskey downed it turns out that the answer to the question "Who killed Nancy" is the same as the answer to who killed Sid.

To paraphrase the Rolling Stones, “After all, it was you and me.” The best thing about recorded music is that when we are tired of hearing from the rockers we can turn the blasted thing off. Neither Sid nor Nancy had any way of turning off the hurricane that was going on around them. They were caught in the eye of the storm and their fans did not intend to let them get out alive.

Sid Vicious was a great musician and could have fronted one of the best bands of all time. However, he had no safety net. Even his mother was supplying him drugs.

Great archival footage and even better firsthand accounts of what it was to be in the middle of the action at Max’s Kansas City and the other New York hot spots where the fun just never ended. That is, until you did…

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Documentary
Directed by: Alan G. Parker
Release: July 30, 2010
MPAA: Not Rated
Runtime: 89 minutes
Country: UK
Language: English
Color: Color