Evening Standard: ****
December 1st, 2011 | Published in Reviews
Review: Sound It Out is the last vinyl record shop in Stockton, and apparently the whole of Teesside.
Local director Jeanie Finlay took a handheld camera there to watch Tom, the intrepid owner, dealing with his customers. An old boy who loves Meat Loaf plays up to the camera but in general they tell it like it is. A teenager who has attempted suicide several times finds emotional release in heavy metal. A singer, born in Stockton but now a minor celebrity, does a few numbers on the premises.
For a seemingly naive film, it is amazing how well it works. Finlay doesn’t obtrude but finds in her subject matter a glorious kind of justification. Even in times of recession, some people just can’t be defeated. Television should grab this documentary pronto. Meanwhile I can’t imagine anyone will regret seeing it on the big screen.
