Film / Stoned

Stoned is a 2005 British biopic that focuses on Brian Jones, who was a founding member (or the founding member, by some accounts) of The Rolling Stones. The film focuses primarily on the last three months of his life, though the film is littered with flashbacks just so the audience can get a sense of how we got here. It also advances the notion that Jones was murdered by builder Frank Thorogood, even though the official ruling was death by misadventure (it helps that it’s a real-life conspiracy theory), and primarily aims to tell that story.

The directorial debut of Stephen Woolley (previously the producer for many a Neil Jordan film), and written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (who had previously worked on the last few James Bond films, starting with The World Is Not Enough), the film was a a Box Office Bomb, earning only $38,922 in America. It probably didn't help any that Jones's erstwhile bandmate Mick Jagger (who appears as a minor character) allegedly tried to sue the people making the movie.

Leo Gregory stars as Brian Jones, with Paddy Considine as Frank Thorogood, David Morrisey as Tom Keylock, Ben Whishaw as Keith Richards, Monet Mazur as Anita Pallenberg, Luke De Woolfson as Mick Jagger, Tuva Novotny as Anna Wohlin, and Amelia Warner as Janet Lawson.

---

This film contains examples of:

• The '60s: This film primarily takes place in mid-1969 (from April to July, specifically), while the flashbacks range from 1959 to 1968.
• Abusive Parents: One thing the film does make clear (if briefly) is that Brian’s relationship with his parents, particularly his father, was not a happy one.
• Accidental Murder: Given his behavior after Brian’s death, it appears that Frank didn’t mean to kill him, but he does participate in the ensuing cover-up.
• Adapted Out:
  • Brian had two younger sisters. The youngest, Barbara, is seen quite briefly in the movie, but the middle child, Pamela, is never mentioned, possibly because of her death at age two from leukaemia. This works to the film’s detriment, because her death and the way Brian’s parents explained it to their then-three-year-old son (that she’d been sent away for misbehaviour) goes a long way into explaining some of Brian’s behaviour later in life.
  • Not quite the same, but Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman have largely diminished roles in the film. Bill is reduced to no more than a background character, despite being one of Brian’s closest confidantes within the Stones camp (at the very least, he is the only one who has consistently spoken in Brian’s defence in the 51 years since his death). Charlie fares slightly better, but he only appears during the scene where Brian’s being fired from the Rolling Stones and even then, he doesn’t even have any lines. (This also applies to Ian Stewart, although at least in his case it's justified due to his being Demoted to Extra early in the Stones’ career.)
  • The Stones’ second manager, Allen Klein, also fails to appear in this. This also works to the film’s detriment, because his financial tactics go a long way in explaining why Brian, despite being part of one of the world’s most famous rock bands, was suffering from financial difficulties not long before his death (not helped by his spending habits).
• Adaptational Attractiveness:
  • Ben Whishaw is considerably cuter than Keith Richards was, even accounting for the fact that Keith was rather handsome when he was younger. Similarly, in a subversion, Leo Gregory is much skinnier than Brian Jones was in 1969.
  • This trope also applies to Volker Schlöndorff as well.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: The film doesn’t really delve into the fact that part of Brian’s ostracization from the Stones was due to Mick and Keith picking on him (Mick did say later, though, that he did regret not realizing the extent of Brian’s drug addictions).
• Adaptational Dumbass: For someone who supposedly had an IQ of 135, Brian sure isn’t the sharpest tool in the drawer
• Adaptational Ugliness: Leo Gregory is rather average-looking in comparison to Jones, who had a rather cherubic face.
• Aimlessly Seeking Happiness:
  Brian: I was happy somewhere in the middle there. The thing with happiness was… it was boring.
• The Alcoholic: Brian and Frank are seen downing quite a few drinks throughout the course of the movie. Brian even refers to it as getting “legally stoned.”
• All Abusers Are Male: The relationship between Brian Jones and Anita Pallenberg, according to some witnesses, was abusive both physically and emotionally between the two parties, but in the movie, only Brian is shown to be abusive (and yet we’re still supposed to sympathize with him).
• All Men Are Perverts: Brian, Frank, and Tom are just about defined by this trope throughout the course of the movie.
• All Take and No Give: Brian, to a T, which is a shame because his real-life counterpart did have moments where he could be quite generous (depended on the day, really)
• All Women Are Lustful: Most of the women seem to be in this movie for the sex and drugs.

• Artistic License – History: Boy howdy, this film is chock full of it.
  • At the very start of the film, when Brian gets a gig for the fledgling Stones, he verifies that they have a 7:30 soundcheck. The Stones didn’t start doing soundchecks until later in their career.
  • In real life, on the night Brian died, Anita was almost eight months pregnant with her and Keith’s first child, Marlon. In the film, she’s not even showing a sign of pregnancy (much less being close to term).
  • Brian is shown with a Robert Johnson album in 1959, two years before any such records existed in the UK.
  • The Stones’ soon-to-be manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, claims he helped to break The Beatles in America. In reality, he only worked with Brian Epstein for a brief spell, and the affiliation ended long before the Fab Four hit it big in the States. (Possibly justified in-universe as Oldham puffing himself up to get the gig.)
  • If Paul Trynka’s book Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones is to be believed, then Brian was the one who approached Volker Schlöndorff about doing the soundtrack for Mord und Totschlag, and even agreed to do it for free. In the film, he’s approached by Volker.
  • Although what happened between Brian and Anita in Morocco right before she left him for Keith has been disputed over the years, Keith has since said that Brian threw food at her, and even the worst stories only go as far as physical assault- not sexual assault like the movie portrays.
  • Throughout the movie, Brian often comes across as a Jaded Washout, when several people who knew him in his final days have suggested that Brian was going to take a break before starting up another band (though, depending on who we’re talking about, even this has been the subject of debate).
• Asshole Victim: Despite being the film’s main protagonist, it can be hard to sympathize with Brian in his final moments, after the movie has mostly depicted him being a prick to just about everyone he knows.
• Attention Whore: Brian is implied to have been this back in the glory days (he sure was in real life).
• Back-Alley Doctor: Brian suggests this after learning he got his fourteen-year-old girlfriend pregnant. Needless to say, Brian’s father is not happy about this.
  Brian: Couldn’t she see a doctor? Aren’t there clinics now?
  Brian’s Father: Oh, you want to become a murderer, do you, as well as a molester? You make me sick! (slaps Brian across the face)
• The Bad Guy Wins: Frank murders Brian, and Tom helps him to cover it up.
• Beauty Is Bad: Brian is considered quite physically attractive, but he spends most of the movie acting like a complete pig.
• Big Friendly Dog: Brian has an Afghan Hound named Heffalump (he really did have an Afghan Hound in real life, but it was named Luther; the name change was likely to reinforce the connection between Cotchford Farm and A. A. Milne)
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: Boy howdy, Brian’s parents weren’t big on unconditional love, one of Brian’s younger sisters died of leukemia when they were just toddlers, and Brian has a bunch of illegitimate children running around.
• Blinded by Rage: Both Brian and Frank commit some of their worst deeds in this movie while extremely angry (and/or under the influence of various controlled substances).
• Bondage Is Bad: Brian and Anita are into BDSM. Their relationship goes down the toilet within two years.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Brian Jones, both in real life and in this movie
• The British Invasion: This is briefly touched upon in the movie, considering that the Stones were the second biggest British band in the world at that time.
• British Rock Star: A given, considering this film is all about the founding member of the Rolling Stones.
• British Stuffiness: This could apply to most of the authority figures in this movie, particularly Brian’s father.
• Broken Ace: Brian is this by April 1969 (though, in both real life and especially in this movie, it can be argued that Brian was ultimately responsible for a good chunk of his problems).
• Broken Pedestal: At the start of the film, it’s clear that, despite the skepticism, Frank does have a bit of envy, maybe even admiration towards the fey, young rock star he’s just been employed for (though, this could just as easily be due to some ulterior motive like getting paid). It quickly evaporates once he learns that he’s been fired by Brian.
• The Butler Did It: Well, builder-turned-minder, but essentially the same concept.
• But We Used a Condom!: Averted. There is no indication that Brian was using one when he got Mary pregnant. Truth in television too, since, at that time in Great Britain, contraception was almost unheard of. The birth control pill wasn’t even invented until the early 1960s.
• Butt-Monkey: Frank serves as one for Brian and Anna at various points throughout the film. It doesn’t end well for Brian.
• Bystander Syndrome: Four people witness Frank murdering Brian. Absolutely none of them go to the police, and one actively participates in destroying some of Brian’s possessions the next morning. Note: In real life, what most likely happened is that Brian had sleeping pills and alcohol in his system and experienced a shallow-water blackout at a time when he was completely alone
• Can't Take Criticism: Brian has several moments like this, which usually results in him taking out his anger on Anita.
  Anita: You could go to the studio...
  Brian: Don’t tell me what to do! I’ll do whatever I bloody well like!
• Captain Oblivious: Brian seems out of touch with reality, especially right before his death.
• Carpet of Virility: Brian (Truth in television too)
• The Casanova: Brian, very much so. Let’s just say he does a lot of sleeping around over the course of this movie.
• Caught with Your Pants Down: There's a rather bizarre scene where Brian (wearing absolutely nothing) has one of those conversations with Keith (wearing an open robe) that’s really only half-complete and says absolutely nothing (so… a dangling conversation?)
• Chaotic Stupid: Brian has this going on in spades. It’s hard to find even one remotely intelligent thing he does during the movie.
• Come to Gawk: The four people who witness Brian's murder.
• Commitment Issues: Brian has a ton of these, particularly regarding his relationships with women.
• Contractual Genre Blindness: Really, it feels like the only reason Brian is as oblivious as he is because the screenwriters couldn’t figure out how else to tell the story of his alleged murder.
• Cool People Rebel Against Authority: Part of the appeal of the Rolling Stones.
• The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much: Brian’s death is ruled an accident (which it likely was in real life), despite this film claiming he was murdered.
• The Corruptor: Honestly, Brian might have had fewer problems to deal with had he not focused on inducting Frank into the rock and roll lifestyle.
• The Corruptible: Frank ends up being this by the end of the movie.
• Cute and Psycho: Male example here. Brian is quite attractive (or so the film says), but he has a violent/manipulative streak a mile long.
• Damsel in Distress: Anita during the trip to Morocco.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Brian. To elaborate from real life, his little sister died when they were both young, his parents were practically allergic to the word love (seriously, even his gravestone says “In affectionate remembrance”), he developed asthma at the age of four, and he later dropped out of school after getting his girlfriend pregnant (more than a bit scandalous back then). Sadly, things didn’t get too much better for him once he left his hometown of Cheltenham.
• Dead Artists Are Better: Played with.
  Brian: Thanks for making a martyr of me. If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be alive and… no one would care.
• Dead Person Conversation: Frank imagines one between Brian and Tom.
• Dirty Coward: Tom Keylock. At the end of the film, he witnesses Frank murdering Brian, and instead of going to the cops, he instead actively participates in destroying Brian’s possessions, ropes Frank into it, admits that he’s covering Frank’s ass because Tom would get in trouble too, and basically tells Frank to shut up when the latter tries to confess to Brian’s murder, blaming him regardless of what actually happened.
• Distant Prologue: One of the first scenes of the movie takes place at an early Stones gig in January 1963
• Disappeared Dad: Brian is this to however many offspring he has (the movie even mentions he had at least five kids)
• Disney Acid Sequence: When Brian starts dancing around to “Not Fade Away” (even across several flashbacks). No, it doesn’t make sense in context either.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Part of what leads to Brian sexually assaulting Anita is him realizing that she’s in love with Keith instead of him and that she slept with him even though he was goading her to do it not five minutes earlier in the runtime. Later, Frank murders Brian over… a small string of humiliations and not being paid in full for his services the day he was fired (despite Brian explaining that he’s in a financial bind as much as Frank is, though not very well).
• Domestic Abuse: Brian Jones and Anita Pallenberg, dear God. To elaborate, they were mutually abusive, though the movie only shows Brian’s abuse of Anita. He attempts to hit her at one point, only to smash a mirror instead (in real life, he broke his wrist during one of their altercations, though sources vary as to whether he punched a window frame or her face). The final straw comes when he realizes she’s more into Keith than him, which leads to a scene where he tries to rope her into a foursome and then sexually assaults her.
  • There’s also this exchange:
    Anita: You can’t even get it up without hitting me!
    Brian: That’s what you like!
    Anita: (voice breaking) …Not all the time.
  • Brian’s father slaps him across the face when Brian suggests, with nary a hint of remorse, that his 14-year-old, pregnant girlfriend could get an illegal abortion
• Doomed Protagonist: Brian appears dead in the pool roughly three-and-a-half minutes in, and the rest of the movie from there backtracks to tell the story of how he died (allegedly).
• Double Entendre: This film has quite a bit of that going on.
• Downer Ending: At least in terms of the characters. Brian is brutally murdered, Frank gets away with everything thanks to Tom encouraging him to lie and helping him with the cover-up, Anna gets sent back to Sweden (where, as she later claimed in her book, she suffered a miscarriage), and just about everyone gets away with all the horrible shit they’ve done.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Early in the film, it’s Brian’s way of getting “legally stoned.” After he gets his ass fired from the Rolling Stones, he starts snorting cocaine barely two scenes later.
• Drugs Are Bad: Let’s face it, a lot of Brian’s problems (both in the film and real life) were caused by his overuse of drugs. It gets to the point where Anita tells Brian that Keith can handle the drugs better than him (and considering how Keith has a reputation as an immortal junkie with a lot of near-death experiences under his belt, that’s probably saying a lot).
  Anita: Look at yourself! You can’t handle the drugs!
  Brian: We take drugs. We do. You, me, Keith—
  Anita: I can handle them, Brian! Keith can handle them! You, you just... fade away.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: We’re talking about a musician/fashion icon from the 1960’s who practically modelled his later fashion sense off the concept of androgyny before David Bowie and Mick Jagger made it cool. How do you think that’s going to turn out?
• Dude, Not Funny!: Brian seems to get a rise out of poking fun at Anita and Keith once he realizes that they’re seeing each other behind his back, Anita tries to get him to stop (“Don’t be so bourgeois”, he replies), and it’s clear that just about everyone in the immediate vicinity is extremely uncomfortable with this (Tom even mutters “Fuckin’ hell, Brian).
• Dumbass Teenage Son: As mentioned above, Brian got a girl pregnant when he was just seventeen. His track record did not improve as he got older.
• Entitled to Have You: Brian, especially towards the end of his relationship with Anita.
• Eternal Sexual Freedom: This film is primarily set in 1969. What else would you expect the main characters to believe in?
• Everybody Smokes: A given, considering this takes place in the 1960’s
• Expository Hairstyle Change:
  • Frank’s hair gets longer as the film progresses, showing how far he’s being dragged into Brian’s world.
  • In the flashbacks, Brian's hair is shorter and neater than it is in 1969, possibly being reflective of his overall decline and fall from grace.
• Extreme Doormat: Frank up until Brian fires him.
• Extreme Libido: As previously mentioned, Brian has a tendency towards sleeping around a lot.
• Fangirl: Given that the Rolling Stones were second only to the Beatles back in the 1960’s, expect plenty of screaming fangirls.
• Fan Disservice: There’s quite a bit of nudity in this movie. However, the sheer amount of it can turn off certain types of viewers. The scene where Brian assaults Anita also qualifies as this. Definitely not a film for the sex repulsed.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Brian's hubris, for one.
  • There's also Frank's envy.
  • Tom has a vested interest in covering his ass at just about every turn.
• Female Gaze: This film has a few scenes of full-frontal male nudity, though whether anyone will find this attractive is entirely dependent upon the viewer.
• Femme Fatale: Anita is certainly set up to be one since the movie by and large blames her for Brian’s downfall.
• Felony Misdemeanor: Frank accuses Anna of not caring about Brian when he finds black bombers she’s trying to hide from Brian (though, black bombers were entirely legal at that point). In his defence though, by this point in time, Brian has already been convicted of drug possession twice. There’s also the fact that Anna mentions there’s grass too, which was definitely illegal. A third conviction would probably result in a long prison term for Brian (part of the reason he got out of serving a year in prison was because the doctors were arguing that he’d become suicidal if he were jailed).
• The Film of the Book: Loosely based on three books: Paint It Black by Geoffrey Giuliano, Who Killed Christopher Robin? by Terry Rawlings, and The Murder of Brian Jones by Anna Wohlin.
• A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted: Brian has a bit of a problem with saving the money he’s earned (for one thing, he owns a goddamn double-decker bus), and by mid-1969, he’s having financial difficulties. It could be argued though, that some of this goes back to Allen Klein and his overall hoarding of band finances.
• Foreign Culture Fetish: Brian has quite the fascination with Moroccan culture. In real life, it got to the point that his only solo album consisted of his recordings of The Master Musicians of Joujouka, and biographer Paul Trynka suggests that this stemmed from Brian’s deep interest in the blues and his exploration into its roots.
• Freudian Excuse: If Brian's home life in 1959 is anything to go by, Brian did not have a happy childhood.
• Fury-Fueled Foolishness: This is ultimately what results in Brian’s death in the movie.
• Gaslighting: One of many things Brian puts Anita and Frank through in this movie.
• The Generation Gap: Briefly touched upon with Brian and his parents and various other people above the age of 40 in this movie.
• Glorified Sperm Donor: Brian. In the movie, there are at least five women claiming to be the mothers of his children. In real life, he did indeed have five children (most likely more), but he probably only knew about his four sons (his only known daughter was the result of a one-night-stand with a married woman) and if he was involved in any of their lives, it was only a brief while.
• Glory Seeker: Implied to be part of the reason Brian set out to be a musician in the first place.
• Good Adultery, Bad Adultery: By 1967, Brian and Anita’s relationship is on the rocks, and the situation is only compounded when Brian realizes that she and Keith are now attracted to each other (he even goads her to sleep with Keith). Once he takes things too far, Keith has his “Sir Galahad” moment, and helps her get away from him. Naturally, while Anita leaving Brian did work out rather well for her in the long run (she was with Keith until 1980 and they had three kids together), the situation was quite a bit more nuanced in real life.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Brian has one in a few scenes, though whether this is due to a possible mental illness, drug abuse, or some random combination of circumstances is up to conjecture at this point.
• His Own Worst Enemy: Brian outright admits this early in the film.
• Historical Hero Upgrade: The film attempts this with Brian, but it doesn’t quite work out. In fact, the film ends up making Brian look more sociopathic than he ever was in real life.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: This happens to Frank Thorogood, even though for a good portion of the film, he’s more sympathetic than Brian.
• Hollywood Drowning: Brian at the beginning really doesn’t look like someone who’s just drowned. Given that his eyes and mouth are closed (usually the opposite in drowning victims), it looks more like he’s asleep.
• Hookers and Blow: It’s a movie about the Rolling Stones. Of course Brian engages in this behaviour.
• Hope Spot: For the characters, since the audience has known since at least the three-and-a-half-minute mark that Brian drowned. Brian views getting kicked out of the Stones as a bit of a new opportunity once he comes to terms with it, and then he manages to promptly ruin it by firing Frank and continuing to not take him seriously, even as Frank’s behaviour becomes more threatening as the day goes on.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Brian displays this quite frequently throughout the film, particularly regarding Tom (who even in real life is remembered as a bit of a sleaze) and Frank (who ends up killing him in this movie).
• How We Got Here: The film starts with the night of Brian's death before flashing back to a few months before to start telling the story of Brian's downfall and eventual murder
• I Didn't Mean to Kill Him: Given Frank's behaviour and demeanour after Bria's death, it's easy to infer that he didn’t mean to kill Brian. Still, he does actively participate in the subsequent cover-up.
• I'm a Man; I Can't Help It: It’s never explicitly stated, but Brian sure lets his dick do a lot of the talking.
• Imagine Spot: Frank has one during the Stones in the Park concert during which he imagines Brian returning to Earth as a ghost and chatting with an old Tom Keylock, all while Brian takes the place of the lover Anita shoots in self-defence in the film Mord und Totschlag. Yes, it’s exactly as strange and trippy and stupid as you might imagine.
• Informed Ability: Brian's musical talents. This might stretch back to the fact that the filmmakers obviously were unable to get the rights to the Stones' music, but much is made of Brian being some sort of genius (even to the point of the film itself basically calling him a martyr), but most of what we see is him abusing various substances, being terrible to the people around him, and sleeping around with various women. There are only about three scenes that show Brian’s true potential as a musician, which is a damn shame, because during his tenure with the band, Brian Jones contributed some of the most innovative parts of the Stones’ early music, and the band truly would not have been the same (or maybe even a band) had Brian not been around.
• Informed Flaw:
  • Brian asks Frank if Tom mentioned he was paranoid, but aside from one or two scenes, Brian seems no more or less paranoid than the average person in 1969.
  • When he fires Frank, Brian accuses him of being a “fucking terrible builder.” From what can be seen in the movie, Frank seems rather competent minus that one kitchen beam that falls from the ceiling.
• In Medias Res: A bit of a weird example in that the film starts with a Stones gig in 1963, then cuts forward to the night of Brian’s death in July 1969, and then finally cuts back to April 1969 to tell the story of how Brian died.
• In-Universe Camera: Keith, Brian, and Anita carry around cameras during different scenes in the movie.
• It's All About Me: Brian’s rather narcissistic throughout the movie.
• "Just Joking" Justification: Brian tries this regarding his treatment of Frank. It doesn’t work for him.
• Karma Houdini: Even for a film set in the 1960s, all three of the leads get away with doing some truly despicable shit.
  • Brian faces absolutely no legal repercussions for sexually assaulting Anita, and granted, it could be that she didn’t report the crime, given that this was before the #MeToo movement, but that still doesn’t take away the fact that Brian assaulted his girlfriend, and yet the movie continues to blame Anita for all of Brian’s problems after she (rightfully) leaves him for Keith.
  • Frank gets away with murdering Brian. Granted, Brian was an absolute piece of shit throughout the course of the movie, but even so, sticking with this movie’s timeline of events, Frank should have been put on trial for murder, especially considering that there were no less than four witnesses who actually saw Frank drown Brian. Granted, Frank does make like he wants to tell Tom what really happened, only for Tom to tell him he doesn’t want to know the truth.
  • Tom bullies Frank just about as much as Brian does, is stated to be cheating on his girlfriend, definitely wants to dump her for selfish reasons, and at the very end of the movie ropes Frank into helping him cover up the true circumstances of Brian’s death (funnily enough, the real Tom Keylock served as an advisor on this movie, make of that what you will). The worst that comes to him is delivered via text epilogue, which states that he was fired from the Rolling Stones not long after Brian’s death.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: Frank keeps pushing Brian’s head under the water until Brian loses his strength, and eventually, his life.
• Lack of Empathy: Brian displays this on numerous occasions throughout the film (are we sure he’s not a psychopath in this movie?)
• Language Barrier: In all reality, if people’s accounts of meeting the real Anna Wohlin are accurate (which describe her as speaking poor, broken English), then there really should be one between her and Brian. In the actual film though, this is averted, with Anna speaking English very well.
• Living Emotional Crutch: If the last scene is anything to go by, Anita is supposed to be one for Brian.
• Lonely at the Top: Brian is this by 1969, though if his treatment of Anita is any indication, it’s implied that he might have chased everyone who cared about him away (either intentionally or unintentionally).
• Loners Are Freaks: Frank basically says this to Brian’s face right before the murder (doesn’t stop Brian from not taking him seriously).
• The Lost Lenore: Anita to Brian (though, really, it’s his own fault he pushed her away).
• Love Hurts: None of the relationships in this movie are healthy in any way, shape, or form.
• Love Makes You Dumb: Brian can already be quite impulsive, but that only seems to get worse whenever there’s girls around.
• Love Martyr: This film gives no explanation as to why Anita puts up with Brian’s bullshit for two years. In real life, it is generally agreed that Brian and Anita were not a good match for each other, and that the toxicity was mutual (though, naturally, more of the focus is directed at Brian both in life and in film).
• Love Triangle: There is one between Brian, Keith, and Anita. Keith ends up winning Anita’s affections due to Brian’s abusive behaviour reaching all new heights.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: Really, it isn't hard for Tom to rope Frank into keeping his mouth shut, and even have him lie to the police, which results in Brian's death being ruled accidental. Slight truth in television, as Brian’s death was, indeed, ruled an accident, but the exact cause of his death is still contested, despite it being many decades since his death.
• Male Gaze: Given the copious amounts of nudity in this film, there's plenty of that going on (it still occurs even when the females are fully clothed)
• Manchild: Brian acts quite petulantly throughout the course of this movie (he had his moments in real life too).
• May–December Romance: 26-year-old Janet Lawson is dating 43-year-old Tom Keylock.
• Mean Boss: Both Brian and Tom are this to Frank. Really, no wonder he snaps.
• Ms. Fanservice: Applies to Anita and Anna the most, but also Janet in at least two scenes. Sadly, they aren’t very well-rounded characters to balance out the sexuality.
• Mood-Swinger: Brian in both real life and the movie.
• Moral Guardians: Brian’s father, for one, who refers to the blues as "evil filth."
• Motor Mouth: Tom’s got a bit of this going on, and his strong accent doesn’t help matters.
• Muggingthe Monster: Right before he’s killed, Brian essentially does this by continuing to mock Frank, despite every indication that he’s 110% done with Brian’s bullshit.
• Murder by Inaction: Four people bear witness to Brian’s murder, and yet, none of them tried to stop Frank, possibly due to Bystander Syndrome. The film seems to show that Tom arrived just after Brian died, so he’s a bit of an odd man out, but that leaves at least three people who could have stepped in at any moment.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Frank seems to have one of these moments when he realizes that Brian’s actually dead, and that people saw him hold Brian under the water.
• Never My Fault: Brian's more than a bit prone to this.
• "No" Means "Yes": During the scene where Brian assaults Anita, she is repeatedly screaming at him to stop. He doesn’t listen. The next day, she, Keith, and Mick leave Brian stranded in Morocco.
• Not a Game: Brian rarely takes anything seriously, aside from music, which ultimately results in his death.
• Offing the Annoyance: Brian just doesn’t seem to know when to keep his mouth shut, because he keeps pushing Frank’s buttons even though the latter keeps making it threateningly clear that he’s done with Brian’s bullshit.
• Only in It for the Money: Really, it’s the only reason Frank puts up with Brian’s behaviour for as long as he does.
• Pimped-Out Cape: Brian in at least two scenes.
• Police Are Useless: Whatever investigation the police performed, it definitely wasn’t conducted well enough, since Brian's death is ruled an accident.
• Pool Scene: One of the final scenes of the film takes place at the pool, where Brian was famously found dead. It starts with Brian and Anna having a Two-Person Pool Party when they get interrupted by Frank dive-bombing in, causing Anna to be uncomfortable and leaving. Frank and Brian then get into a fight which leads to Frank killing Brian by drowning him.
• Protagonist-Centered Morality: Many of the flashback scenes with Brian feel this way, especially considering how this film repeatedly states that Brian’s downfall was Anita’s fault despite his treatment of her and how he seemingly never took steps to get help for his many, many problems.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Brian can come off as this at certain points during the film.
• Rape as Drama: Two scenes, neither of which are done in a particularly tasteful manner:
  • The first comes in Morocco and is cited as the catalyst for Anita leaving Brian. She walks in on him having just had a threesome with two prostitutes, and he tries to rope her into a foursome. When she refuses, he brutally beats and assaults her, leaving her with a bruised face, at which point Keith decides enough is enough and gets the two of them out of there.
  • The second comes towards the end of the movie, as Frank’s becoming more unhinged. He tries to sexually assault Janet, but she manages to fight him off.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Tom tries to come across as this, but he’s too crooked to pull it off.
• Revenge Before Reason: Essentially, Frank murders Brian over a small string of humiliations (though this is only what we see on screen) and not being paid in full.
• Rich Boredom: Brian embodies this, particularly in the final scene of the movie
• Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: Well, more emphasis on the Sex and Drugs part of it, because the filmmakers either couldn’t or wouldn’t get the rights to the Stones’ music (though, considering Mick Jagger allegedly tried to sue…)
• Skewed Priorities: Brian, constantly. Especially during the scene where he’s murdered (“It’s a fucking joke! I was never serious!”)
• Stranger Safety: Brian sees Frank more as a plaything than anything else, even as Frank becomes more unhinged towards the end. This comes back to bite him big time.
• Suicidal Overconfidence: Basically, Brian in his last scene alive.
• The Tease: Brian pulls this on Frank with Anna in one scene.
• Too Dumb to Live: Really Brian, what did you think was going to happen if you kept teasing and mocking the man you recently fired?!
• Too Upset to Create: Brian seems to be this in the immediate aftermath of being fired from the Rolling Stones.
• Took a Level in Jerkass:
  • Brian somehow ended up coming off as a worse person than his real-life counterpart (which is saying a lot, all things considered).
  • Going off the assumption that the real Frank Thorogood didn’t kill Brian, then this also applies to him as well.
• Sexy Surfacing Shot: When Frank interrupts Brian and Anna's Two-Person Pool Party, Anna embarrassingly swims away since she's topless and there's a gratuitous shot of her climbing out of the water, using a Toplessness from the Back angle.
• Unkempt Beauty: Anita and Anna are portrayed as such.
• Upper-Class Twit: Brian was born into a background that was considerably more upper-middle class than the rest of his fellow Stones. Still didn’t stop him from acting like a complete git. Especially in this movie.
• Verbed Title: Pun-Based Title on The Rolling Stones.
• We Used to Be Friends: Brian and Keith. The Love Triangle between them and Anita Pallenberg is a large part of what ultimately killed it.
• Younger Than They Look: Brian, despite being twenty-seven, looks more like he’s in his mid-thirties

---