The Boat That Rocked

The Boat That Rocked (2009) is Richard Curtis's rowdy comedy-drama you can watch online on iFILM. In 1966 the BBC allots pop music about two hours a week, so a crew of renegade DJs anchors a battered ship in the North Sea and blasts rock and roll round the clock to a nation of listeners glued to their radios.

Young Carl (Tom Sturridge) is shipped off to live aboard, straight into the chaos. The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman) bellows into the mic like a man possessed. Gavin (Rhys Ifans) is the returning superstar everyone fears. Shy Simon, deadpan captain Quentin (Bill Nighy) and a boatload of misfits run on one rule: the music never stops. Ashore, a prim government minister played by Kenneth Branagh wants the whole operation sunk.

Curtis built a love letter to pirate radio, packing the soundtrack with The Kinks, The Who and The Rolling Stones and the cast with Nick Frost, Emma Thompson, Gemma Arterton and January Jones. It is loud, scrappy and unapologetically joyful. Stream The Boat That Rocked (2009) online on iFILM.