Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché (2022)
89%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 3 nominations
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché pays worthy tribute to its trailblazing subject with a documentary that honors her life as engagingly as it chronicles her career.
Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché is a must-watch for anyone who wants to learn about the punk rock scene and the woman who broke barriers in it. The documentary is a touching tribute to Poly Styrene, and it’s clear that her daughter, Celeste Bell, poured her heart and soul into making it. The film is both informative and emotional, and it’s impossible not to feel a connection to Poly Styrene after watching it. Plus, who doesn’t love a good punk rock soundtrack?
Production Company(ies)
Soudaine Compagnie Pandora Filmproduktion, Arte France Cinéma
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2021
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:NA
-
Runtime:NA
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United Kingdom
-
Release date:NA
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
Poly Styrene, I Am a Cliché, documentary, English, Celeste Bell, Paul Sng, Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Daria Nitsche, Matthew Silverman, Ruth Negga, Thurston Moore, Kathleen Hanna, Vivienne Westwood, Neneh Cherry, X-Ray Spex, punk, music, rebellion, identity, consumerism, postmodernism, UK, woman of color, trailblazing, riot grrrl, Afropunk, mental illness, misogyny, racism, daughter, legacy, archive material, unseen, diary entries, Oscar-nominee, director, producer, writer, reviewed by, box office, budget, MPAA rating, rent, buy, theaters, streaming
Worldwide gross: $53,940
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $58,666
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,075
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 6,398
US/Canada gross: $48,544
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $52,797
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,748
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,506
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $5,988
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,788
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Thurston Moore –
Kathleen Hanna –
Vivienne Westwood –
Neneh Cherry –
Director(s)
Celeste Bell, Paul Sng
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Daria Nitsche, Matthew Silverman
Film Festivals
South by Southwest
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (56) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (55) | Rotten (1)
More than a journeyman rockumentary, “Poly Styrene” is a thoughtfully finessed filial reckoning: a daughter’s journey toward understanding her mother as a young artist and as a young woman of color.
February 3, 2022
Lisa Kennedy
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
This is not a banal or mundane fake-objective music history doc: it’s an almost real-time chronicle of a daughter coming to grips with a mother’s legacy.
February 2, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Glenn Kenny
RogerEbert.com
TOP CRITIC
Unique and affecting…
January 27, 2022
Tim Stegall
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Above all else this is a love-letter to the woman behind Poly Styrene as much as it is to the ground-breaking punk pioneer herself.
August 17, 2021
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
AWFJ Women on Film
TOP CRITIC
[A] riveting and valuable documentary…
March 5, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The film’s secret weapon is its candour – about Britain, the music business, mental health and the subject herself.
March 3, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Danny Leigh
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
Poly Styrene: I Am A Clich manages to hold true to its overlapping perceptions of its subject, maintaining a well-balanced tension between the two that makes for fascinating viewing.
February 25, 2022
Molly Adams
In Review Online
If you know squat about punk music, if you’ve never heard of Poly Styrene, this biography holds little appeal beyond idle curiosity. If, however, the singer spoke loudly to your life as her fan, the film satisfies idol curiosity.
February 18, 2022
Martha K. Baker
KDHX (St. Louis)
I Am a Clich explores how the musician rose to fame and faced immense pressures from the press and music industry as an outspoken and in-your-face icon.
February 13, 2022
Frederick Blichert
The Tyee (British Columbia)
The only quibble here is the repetition of the footage, but the film flows well, avoiding panegyric artificialities.
February 12, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/5
Filipe Freitas
Always Good Movies
Its important to keep her legacy alive, while at the same time recognizing that behind the iconic music and photos she was a real, flawed woman. Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche does exactly that.
February 11, 2022
Lee Jutton
Film Inquiry
While the film is on a crucial level about being a woman in a mans world, Bell…makes this story profoundly personal: Styrene wasnt just a great punk singer; she was somebodys mum.
February 11, 2022 | Rating: 80/100
Pat Padua
Spectrum Culture…
Plot
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché is a documentary that follows the daughter of the late punk musician Poly Styrene as she examines her mother’s legacy and struggles with misogyny, racism, and mental illness.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Ruth Negga narrates rare diary entries in the documentary.
Celeste-Bell.jpg
