Main Cast: Peter Riegert, Burt Lancaster, Fulton Mackay, Denis Lawson, Norman Chancer, Peter Capaldi
Release Year: 1983
Country: UK
Run Time: 112 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Bill Forsyth's whimsical tale of sweet-natured corporate rapacity features standout performances by Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert. Lancaster plays Texas billionaire Felix Happer, who would rather gaze at the stars than worry about his multi-national oil company. Happer dispatches Mac MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) and Danny Oldsen (Peter Capaldi) to the small Scottish fishing village of Ferness to negotiate buying the entire town so Happer can drill for oil in the North Sea. Much to Mac's surprise, the entire town is happy to sell itself for big money, and the local innkeeper, Gordon Urquhart (Denis Lawson) -- who is also the town's accountant and mayor -- works with Mac on the negotiations. But a wrinkle appears in the deal when Ben Knox (Fulton Mackay), an old man who lives in a shack on the beach which has been owned by his family for centuries, refuses to sell. His reasons? "Who'd look after the beach then? It would go to pieces in a short manner of time." The deal stalls so seriously that Happer travels to Ferness to oversee negotiations as Mac and Danny are seduced by the charm of the Scottish town. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
This warm-hearted fish-out-of-water tale highlights the cultural differences (and underlying similarities) between a big city American capitalist and small town Scottish villagers. Just as Mac falls in love with the country and its people, the villagers are equally seduced by his promises of instant, immense wealth. Rather than exploiting the cliché of an evil American oil company battling plucky Scottish townfolk, writer/director Bill Forsyth pursues a quirkier and more intriguing theme of the seduction of the Old World by the New, an idea that has animated such dissimilar works as Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Forsyth's use of "magical realism" is equally understated and restrained. This Scotsman's deadpan, self-deprecating satire of his countrymen is more indebted to Alexander Pope than to the more savage Jonathan Swift. The whimsical characters may be oddballs, but they are not gullible hicks: they want the Americans to show them the money. Forsyth's gags rarely occur at the expense of people's dignity, instead highlighting our basic human frailty. Chris Menges gives us many panoramic shots of the surprisingly beautiful Scottish landscape, while Mark Knopfler's plaintive soundtrack perfectly accents the proceedings. The performances of Burt Lancaster as the eccentric and ambitious oil tycoon is a constant delight, while Peter Riegert's Mac is appropriately (and alternately) flustered and smitten. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide
Jenny Seagrove - Marina; Alex Norton - Watt; Rikki Fulton - Geddes; Jennifer Black - Stella; Christopher Rozycki - Victor; Christopher Asante - Rev. Macpherson; Dave Anderson - Fraser; Caroline Guthrie - Pauline; Kenny Ireland - Skipper; John M. Jackson - Cal; Harlan Jordan - Fountain; James Kennedy - Edward; Buddy Quaid - Crabbe; John Gordon Sinclair - Ricky; Jimmy Yuill - Iain; Ray Jeffries - Andrew; Sandra Voe - Mrs. Fraser; Willie Joss - Sandy; Charles Kearney - Peter; David Mowat - Gideon; Ian Stewart - Bulloch; Tam Dean Burn - Roddy
Credit
Adrienne Atkinson - Art Director, Richard James - Art Director, Frank Walsh - Art Director, Iain Smith - Associate Producer, Jonathan Benson - First Assistant Director, Bill Forsyth - Director, Michael Bradsell - Editor, Mark Knopfler - Composer (Music Score), Adrienne Atkinson - Production Designer, Richard James - Production Designer, Roger Murray-Leach - Production Designer, Frank Walsh - Production Designer, Chris Menges - Cinematographer, David Puttnam - Producer, Wally Veevers - Special Effects, Louis Kramer - Sound/Sound Designer, Bill Forsyth - Screenwriter
