JOHNNY SUEDE U.S.A. Independent Cinema - Fiction

A gently ironic fantasy about a dreamy young man who adopts the name Johnny Suede and sets out to be a pop star, using Ricky Nelson as his model. Sporting a pompadour and flashy costumes, he is innocence incarnate, viewing life through the soulful ballads his idol used to sing. Employing Bunuelesque dream sequences and Godardian elliptical montage, director Tom DiCillo cleverly contrasts Johnny’s fantasy world with the decaying, desolate landscapes of the city’s slums … Brad Pitt gives Johnny the right kind of charming, innocent appeal and Nick Cave perfectly portrays the down-on-his-luck rocker Freak Storm. -Dan Fainaru, Variety