Themes: Righting the Wronged, Heroic Mission, Political Unrest
Main Cast: Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, Andrew Keir
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 139 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The 18th century Scottish legend of Robert Roy MacGregor comes to life in this stylish adaptation of the swashbuckling novel by Sir Walter Scott. Liam Neeson stars as the title character, a cattle drover and proud head of a Highlands clan who takes a one thousand pound loan from the royal Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt) in order to make a profit on some livestock that will keep his struggling people alive through the coming winter. One of the Marquis' henchmen, wily expert swordsman Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth) learns of the loan from the nobleman's factor, Killearn (Brian Cox), and steals the money by murdering Rob Roy's best friend MacDonald (Eric Stoltz). Unable to repay the loan and unwilling to give up his land, Rob Roy becomes a fugitive, hunted by none other than Cunningham, who rapes Rob Roy's wife Mary (Jessica Lange). Scotch-British politics come to a boil over the Rob Roy affair, leading to an officially sanctioned showdown between the stoic farmer and Cunningham. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Review
There are a pair of superb performances at the heart of Rob Roy. Liam Neeson embodies Roy with a quiet, intense dignity. The character does not want to change the world; he simply wants to live his life. The early scenes showing the robust physical relationship between Roy and his wife, along with a warm sequence in which his clan plays music, cracks jokes, and dances by a bonfire, reveal a man that prefers domesticity to action. A great hero needs a great villain, and Tim Roth's Cunningham is the perfect foil for Roy. He is a man who loves action. He fights in duels, womanizes, and thinks nothing of murder if there is money for the taking. In his early scenes he plays Cunningham like a fop, making his violation of Roy's wife all the more frightening; the audience has no clue as to the depths of his wickedness. Roth's Oscar-nominated turn masterfully conveys Cunningham's two-faced nature throughout the film. The film's best scene is a duel between Roy and Cunningham. Truly one of the greatest sword fights in film history, the climactic struggle stands out from such films as The Princess Bride, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and other swashbuckling spectacles because it presents how physically exhausting a sword fight is. The swords in this film are weapons, not props. These men do not leap about with acrobatic flourishes; they fight as if their lives hang in the balance. Rob Roy is masterfully acted, well written, old-fashioned (in the best sense of the phrase) entertainment that was overshadowed in its initial release by another sweeping Scottish historical epic, Braveheart, a film that favors action over character. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
John Ralph - Art Director, Alan Tomkins - Art Director, Susie Figgis - Casting, Larry de Waay - Co-producer, Sandy Powell - Costume Designer, Bill Westley - First Assistant Director, Michael Caton-Jones - Director, Peter Honess - Editor, Michael Caton-Jones - Executive Producer, Carter Burwell - Composer (Music Score), Carter Burwell - Songwriter, Dorothy Pearl - Makeup, Assheton Gorton - Production Designer, Roger Deakins - Cinematographer, Karl Walter Lindenlaub - Cinematographer, Richard Jackson - Producer, Peter Broughan - Producer, Ann Mollo - Set Designer, David John - Sound/Sound Designer, Vic Armstrong - Stunts, William Hobbs - Stunts, Alan Sharp - Screenwriter
