Quadrophenia (film)

Quadrophenia is a 1979 British film, loosely based on the 1973 rock opera of the same name by The Who. The film stars Phil Daniels as Jimmy, a young 1960s Mod who escapes from his deadend job as a mailroom boy by dancing, partying, taking amphetamines, riding his scooter and brawling with the motorcycleriding Rockers. After he and his friends participate in a huge brawl with the Rockers at Brighton, he is arrested and his life starts to spiral out of control he loses his girlfriend Leslie Ash and discovers that his idol, the popular mod nicknamed AceFace Sting is actually a bellhop at a hotel. It was directed by Franc Roddam in his feature directing dbut. Unlike the film adaptation of Tommy, Quadrophenia is not a musical film, and the band does not appear live in the movie.

A bank holiday weekend provides the excuse for the rivalry between Mods and Rockers to come to a head, as they both descend upon the seaside town of Brighton. A series of running battles ensues. As the police close in on the rioters, Jimmy escapes down an alleyway with Steph Leslie Ash a girl on whom he has a crush and they have sex. When the pair emerge, they find themselves in the middle of the melee just as police are detaining rioters. Jimmy is arrested, detained with a volatile, popular Mod he calls Ace Face Sting, and later fined the thenlarge sum of 50. When fined 75, Ace Face mocks the magistrate by offering to pay on the spot with a cheque, to the amusement of the fellow Mods.Back in London, Jimmy becomes severely depressed. He is thrown out of his house by his mother, who finds his stash of amphetamine pills. He then quits his job, spends his severance package on more pills, and finds out that Steph has become the girlfriend of his friend Dave. After a brief fight with Dave, the following morning his rejection is confirmed by Steph and with his beloved Lambretta scooter accidentally destroyed in a crash, Jimmy takes a train back to Brighton. In an attempt to relive the recent excitement, he revisits the scenes of the riots and of his encounter with Steph. To his horror, Jimmy discovers that his idol, Ace Face, is in reality an undistinguished bellboy at a Brighton hotel. Jimmy steals Aces scooter and heads out to Beachy Head, where he rides perilously close to the cliff edge. Finally, he crashes the scooter over a cliff, which is where the film begins, with Jimmy walking back from the cliff top in the sunset back drop. ........

Source: Wikipedia