It is a shame that filmmaker, Bill Forsyth stopped making films. Not only for audiences the world over, but also because the idea of a world where he is not making films is a very sad one indeed. In 1994 he directed Being Human, an utterly soulless Hollywood movie, made as a vehicle for Robin Williams. He found the experience of working with Hollywood so traumatic that he never directed another film. It is somewhat ironic that the film Forsyth is best known for, internationally at least, is Local Hero; where capitalistic greed is defeated by delicate, natural beauty, when it was Hollywood's capitalistic greed that destroyed Forsyth's career.
Local Hero opens with MacIntyre (Peter Reigert), a hot-shot executive working for the Houston, Texas branch of Knox Oil and Gas. He has been sent by his boss, oil tycoon, Felix Happer (Burt Lancaster) to buy the small, costal, village of Ferness in Scotland so the company can build an oil refinery on the land. When he arrives in Scotland, he teams up with Danny (Peter Capaldi), a bumbling young man from the Aberdeen branch of Knox Oil and Gas. Together they try to negotiate with Ferness' local lawyer-cum-hotelier Gordon Urquhart (Dennis Lawson), who, along with the rest of the village, becomes bewitched with the idea of becoming rich after the village has been bought. Eventually, after spending a few days in the village, Mac begins to shed his materialistic lifestyle and falls head-over-heels in love with the town's natural beauty.
During the theatrical release of Local Hero in 1983, many people were comparing it to similar "tartan-whimsey" as Whiskey Galore and Brigadoon. However, a more apt comparison would be with Powell and Pressburger's I Know Where I'm Going, which echoes Local Hero's utopian feel for landscape. What Forsyth, and director-of-photography, Chris Menges manage to do is to craft mood with their images. Often, scenes will play out with little to no dialogue, and we as an audience simply have to accept that the gradual changes in the characters are sincere, and not the result of simply being on a pretty beach. The land is character, and it is filmed in such a way that it engulfs the viewer and leaves them transformed. It is common in films such as this that the land plays as an important part as the characters, and the locations here are stunning, and shot with a warmth that makes it seem like this location can be found only in dreams, not in real life.
Mac's change is gradual, and it is represented, not only in Peter Riegert's warm performance, but also with visual changes. For example, he stops wearing his tie in one scene, then he stops wearing a suit altogether. Eventually he is standing drunk in a bar, unshaven, wearing his most casual clothes, admitting to Gordon that he wants his life. It is touching simply because we have gone through that gradual change with Mac, and we too have found something wonderful in Ferness. Mac announces towards the start of the film that he is, "more of a telex man. I could have this done in afternoon over the phone." By the end of the film he is simply agreeing to whatever price Gordon suggests. Although, while Mac's change is gradual, Gordon and the villagers reaction to the money is immediate, and they seem eager to take the money and run, consumed by greed.
In fact, this is, when you dig deep enough, not just an idyllic fairytale, but a satire on capitalism. As the roles are reversed, Mac realises that if he sells Ferness to the oil company, they will ruin the village, yet the inhabitants of the village do not seem to care. Both Happer and Mac are capitalists by profession, yet they lead shallow lifestyles and they attempt to fill that void with something real. For Mac it is Ferness, and for Happer it is the natural beauty of the stars. It may not be a grand statement, but it is certainly effective. Forsyth's best decisions and strongest scenes are when he lets his scenes play out with subtlety. His humour raises giggles, but few belly laughs, the only broad jokes occurring in the few scenes when Happer, back in Houston, is being harassed by an abusive psychiatrist. These scenes are just broad enough to make the scenes work and are never so unsubtle to derail the delicacy of the scenes in Ferness. Overall the script is unforced, unfussy and playfully sweet.
Moments of pathos are handled equally well. For example, Mac's eventual return to America is written and performed to be bitter-sweet, as the cold, sterility of Houston's skyline contrasts so heavily with the natural landscape of Ferness. As he looks over Houston, which is beautiful in its own way, he realises everything he needed to be happy was left behind in Ferness. From the friends he made to his newfound love of the simple life, and now he must return to a life that he no longer has any use for. It is, in my opinion, one of the finest scripts ever written, at least in terms of balancing moods between melancholic and heartbreakingly bittersweet. Local Hero may have been inspired by the early-80s oil boom, but the film's inspiration on cinema and television is undeniable. The creators of Northern Exposure, the popular television series which ran for five seasons between 1990 and 1995, all but admitted that they were attempting to recreate Local Hero.
In terms of its performances, the film has a decent ensemble. All the villagers are authentically rustic and have several funny moments to themselves. A standout moment would be when a passerby asks an elderly fisherman painting a sign on a boat, whether there are two Ls in "dollar". He replies, "Yes. Are there two Gs in bugger off?" Out of the leads, Dennis Lawson is perhaps the best, showing his subtle change from local town lawyer to a man who will potentially be rich is fairly interesting. He also shares a decent chemistry with Peter Riegert, as Mac and Gordon become friends they share several touching scenes together. Although, the real scene stealer is Burt Lancaster, who is clearly having a ball playing against type as a kindly, gentle man who just happens to be rich.
However, the most complimentary thing to this film's feeling and mood is not the actors, as fine as they are, but the music. The score is performed by Mark Knopfler, best known as a member of Dire Straits. His music is just the right side of melancholic and compliments the film's images perfectly. Like every other aspect of the film, it is, personally, one of the finest film scores ever composed. Everything in the film, from the wonderful screenplay to the pitch-perfect acting and direction is near sublime, and a personal favourite of mine.
10/10
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