Bolan’s Shoes (2023) Review

In the 1970s during T.Rex mania in Liverpool, a group of children from a local children’s home get to experience a truly outstanding gig with the amazing glam rock band. However, on the way home they are involved in a devastating road accident which will change all of their lives forever.

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The opening scenes showing them travelling to the concert with excitement and dressed ready for the glam rock, and then the crash which will impact them all for the rest of their lives. Something that you can possibly never really get over, due to the impact it had. The present day relates to what would have been Marc Bolan’s 75th birthday and story of Bolan’s shoes and that concert with a shrine visit would bring back many memories for Penny as she must eventually come to terms with how that fateful night impacted her decisions not long after.

Bolan’s shoes is a truly emotional journey which manages to capture and highlight how music can really can help support you and being a fan of a band or person really does mean so much.

Thanks to my parents I have always been such a huge T.Rex fan, due to them being fans and still listening to them when I was a child. That meant that as a teen I continued to be a huge fan o Marc Bolan and T.Rex they really do have some incredible songs, music and it also made me open up to the whole Glam Rock era. This also made me think that I was well and truly born in the wrong music era, the film has snippets of their songs and if this manages to create more fans of some outstanding music I am super supportive of that. I mean I do wish we had even more of the music involved but I guess that was just my fandom coming out.

The way in which the crash happened was a truly awful incident due to extreme bullying and had a massive impact on Jimmy’s life. The trauma of it all causing him to suffer from fits and leading a very reclusive life when he was separated from his sister who always stood up for him and looked after him. So much so that they didn’t manage to be reunited with each other over 40 years later! She had her own struggles and issues as well over the years and that was another aspect that had to be dealt with.

The lead performances from Leanne Best and Timothy Spall were both fantastic to watch as they take the audience on a truly emotional journey of being adults with trauma stemming from childhood struggles. Spall really has taken on some truly incredible roles in the past few years and this is certainly another to add to that ever impressive collection. Mathew Horne’s small appearance created a very impressive scene as a truly awful man but he did it so well.

Let’s hope that more people will be opened up to the music of Marc Bolan and T.Rex following this film and want to Ride a White Swan!