A first feature from Owen Harris, "Kill Your Friends" is about the rise of an A&R ("artists and repertoire") manager for an independent record label in the UK in the 90's. His sole motivation is to succeed through the destruction of others and this blackly comic flick proceeds to show you the depths he will descend to in his quest.
We know this because he (played by Nicholas Hoult) provides a near constant voice-over (if there was any more narration, it could have been a radio play).
It [the film] wants to be a lot more transgressive than it is actually is. Totally, I think they were looking for something between Richard III and Trainspotting. Unfortunately, Hout's Stelfox becomes tedious pretty quickly and it just never reaches the heights (or the depths) it so clearly desired.
The film is remarkable for the quality of its soundtrack, which starts with Blur and Oasis and cuts a swath through the top Britpop acts of the time. The author of the novel and screenplay (John Niven) was an A&R man at the time and it appears he was able to call in some favours.
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