This is about a Texas oil company ("Knox") in conflict with the canny residents of a
Scottish fishing village, whose land is needed by the Americans for their
North Sea oil base (as explained on the back of the box).
Hi folks I'm back! I know its been a long time, but I'm not going to review any old tosh (even though I own quite a lot of it). Anyway, this time I have decided to review: "Local Hero".
This is about a Texas oil company ("Knox") in conflict with the canny residents of a
Scottish fishing village, whose land is needed by the Americans for their
North Sea oil base (as explained on the back of the box).
Knox's man, MacIntyre, is despatched to Scotland to conduct the negotiations. Only, not everything works normally. For starters, the villagers are NOT opposing the move; they seem to like the idea of getting rich (they unite behind the financially astute chartered accountant cum innkeeper Gordon Urquhart). And MacIntyre's boss, Happer (played by Burt Lancaster), is actually more interested in which stars MacIntyre sees in the Scottish skies. Maclntyre, incidentally, was only sent because of his Scottish name (mistaken for actually being Scottish).
This is a quaint little movie with no bangs or crashes, and neither murderers nor terrorists. This is an innocent, fun comedy, with a twist in the tail. And if Scotland really is as it would appear in this film, then I would have no second thoughts of picking up and moving house.
A true diamond in the rough.
Gobmeister's note: thanks for that Mr.5. But wait a minute! Haven't you forgotten something? What about a star rating? Oh well, The Gobmeister will just have to give it one himself (see below). Also, The Gobmeister can't let this pass without pointing out the the film was shot at a beautiful location visited by himself (twice), and that it also features: a superbly abusive psychiatrist; Gordon & Stella at it like rabbits; an injured rabbit; and a beautiful old red phonebox.
Stars:
(4/5)
"Local Hero" features:
Peter Riegert as MacIntyre
Peter Capaldi as Danny Oldsen
Burt Lancaster as Happer
Denis Lawson as Gordon Urquhart
Jennifer Black as Stella Urquhart
Jenny Seagrove as Marina
Fulton Mackay as Ben
and an excellent soundtrack from Mark Knopfler.