Pulp: What Do You Do For An Encore?: Movie Review

Director: Garth Jennings

There's a moment in director Garth Jennings' blisteringly good concert-cum-doco feature where UK band Pulp's de facto leader Jarvis Cocker asks what's next for the band in a contemplative voiceover as they perform to sell-out crowds as part of their 2025 More tour.

It's an intriguing insight for a group which went nearly a decade and a half in various iterations before exploding into the collective consciousness of the British music-loving public thanks to their Different Class anthems of the mid-90s.

Meshing live footage of their More tour with archival footage of both the band and Jarvis' early life proves to be a potent mix in this movie that finds a way to elevate the concert experience while furthering the group's standing.

Their first new studio album in 24 years, More, came out to universal acclaim in June 2025 and off the back of its success, a live tour saw them rekindle their ferocious performances and reconnect with their fans. It's some of that energy and excitement which Jennings collects together for Pulp: What Do You Do For An Encore, spinning together essentially some of the greatest hits of Different Class and showcasing their live versions through a lens.

But what Jennings, along with collaborator Jarvis Cocker, do in terms of selecting both musical and personal highlights is to coalesce the experience and recollections of the band as they marched on their way to success, which was in no form, guaranteed.

Pulp have always managed to speak to the masses via their music, and in truth, perhaps portions of this film won't enhance or capture a legion of new fans. But the documentary shows a clever way of capturing the artful energy of the More tour, its theatrical ambitions and how its stripped down moments proved to be deeply cathartic.

As a film about musical connection, of missed opportunities and of the terrors of triumphing, Pulp: What Do You Do For An Encore? deserves plenty of plaudits for gifting the musical movie a brand-new lease of life.

It's an exuberant, joyous celebration of alchemy and eclectic eccentricities and as such, is well worth watching.