Oil City Confidential

Channel4 Film“Not yet reviewed”

Variety“A compelling portrait of intersecting times, cultures and places...” The sociological musings of various interviewees, particularly the garrulous Johnson, are fascinating, as is the consistent effort to place the band in a wider context of what was going on politically, socially and musically in the 70s...

Sight & Sound“A witty and wistful cockney-geezer saga...” Best of all is the adroit occasional intrusion of vintage British cops and robbers films to illustrate the smash and grab nature of the Feelgood's success. Oil City Confidential is meat but mostly drink for denizens of the London rock scene...

Empire“Temple makes the burnished façade of the refinery glimmer...” Authentic feel to this good-looking biopic of the ill-fated band. Director Julien Temple completes his trio of films about the musicians who helped define cultural Britain in the ’70s by showcasing Canvey Island’s pub rock pioneers...

Little White Lies“A rugged piece of pulp entertainment...” Temple tells their story with his usual razzle-dazzle, employing deft in-camera effects to recreate the high wire energy of the band’s live performances. Yet the real pleasure is to be found in the band members themselves...

The Times“A flavourful study...” I’m not sure how many fans the band’s fierce but rather generic songs attract from the younger generation, but never mind: the film succeeds as a flavourful study of an out-of-the-way time and place in British pop-cultural history...

Guardian“A highly entertaining film...” The haunting industrial beauty of the Thames estuary is well caught in the movie. The film's star is the wild former English teacher Wilko Johnson, guitar and chief composer. He's a wild man, off stage and on, funny, eloquent and charismatic...

The Telegraph“Temple pumps all sorts of tactile detail into the story of Dr Feelgood...” The splicing of old home videos, archive footage and new interviews is handled with real finesse, and in the band’s mad-eyed, quixotic guitarist Wilco Johnson, the film has a tirelessly charismatic ringmaster...

Total Film “A clearly affectionate homage to the Canvey Island foursome...” Archive footage shows the quartet’s reputation as an electric live act to be more than justified. The pay-off comes later, though, Johnson fighting back tears as he sees his image projected on the petrochemical works he grew up beside...

Time Out film“It’s quite a tale...” The film itself is nothing less than a masterclass in musical hagiography, beautifully photographed, superbly edited and utterly involving. Riveting, even if you don’t like the music...