Local Hero

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Local Hero

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bill Forsyth
Produced by David Puttnam
Written by Bill Forsyth
Starring Peter Riegert
Denis Lawson
Burt Lancaster
Music by Mark Knopfler
Cinematography Chris Menges
Editing by Michael Bradsell
Distributed by Warner Bros. (U.S.A.)
20th Century Fox (U.K.)
Release date(s) 17 February 1983
(United States)
Running time 111 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Local Hero is a 1983 Scottish film starring Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson, Peter Capaldi and Burt Lancaster. It was directed by Bill Forsyth and produced by David Puttnam.[1]

The film is set in the fictional fishing village of Ferness on the west coast of Scotland. A young representative of an American oil company is sent to the village on a mission. The film features a notable ensemble of character parts.

Contents

[edit] Plot

"Mac" MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) is a typical 1980s hot-shot executive working for Knox Oil and Gas in Houston, Texas. The eccentric chief of the company, Felix Happer (Burt Lancaster), chooses to send him (largely because his surname sounds Scottish) to Scotland to acquire the village of Ferness to make way for a refinery. Mac (who is actually of Hungarian extraction) is a little apprehensive about his assignment, complaining to a co-worker that he would much rather take care of business over the phone and via telex machines. Happer, an avid astronomy buff, tells Mac to watch the sky, especially around the constellation Virgo, and to notify him immediately if he sees anything unusual.

Upon arriving in Scotland, Mac teams up with local Knox representative Danny Oldsen (Peter Capaldi). During a visit to a Knox research facility, Mac and Danny learn the scope of the company's plans, which entail replacing Ferness with the refinery. They also meet (and admire) marine researcher Marina (Jenny Seagrove).

The fictional village of Ferness

Mac ultimately spends several weeks in Ferness, gradually adapting to the slower-paced life and getting to know the eccentric residents, most notably the hotel owner and accountant, Gordon Urquhart (Denis Lawson) and his wife, Stella (Jennifer Black).

As time passes, Mac becomes more and more conflicted as he presses to close the deal that will spell the end of the quaint little village he has come to love. Ironically, the villagers are tired of the hard life they lead and are more than eager to sell, though they feign indifference to induce a larger offer. Mac receives encouragement from an unlikely source: Victor (Christopher Rozycki), a capitalistic Russian fishing boat captain who periodically visits his friends in Ferness (and checks on his investment portfolio, managed by Gordon).

Meanwhile, Danny befriends Marina, who is under the impression the company is planning to build a research centre at Ferness. During a date, he discovers that Marina, who seems more at home in the water than on land, has webbed toes.

As the deal nears completion, Gordon discovers that Ben Knox (Fulton Mackay), an old beachcomber who lives in a snug driftwood shack on the shore, actually owns the beach through a grant from the Lord of the Isles to his ancestor. MacIntyre tries everything to entice Ben to sell, even offering enough money to buy any other beach in the world, but the old man refuses to budge. He is content with what he has.

Happer finally arrives on site, just in time to forestall a potentially nasty confrontation between some of the villagers and Ben; Happer mistakes the mob for a welcoming committee. When Mac informs him of the snag in the proceedings, he decides to negotiate personally with Ben and in the process, discovers a kindred spirit.

Happer opts to locate the refinery offshore and set up an astronomical observatory instead. He instructs MacIntyre to go home to implement the changes. Danny brings up Marina's dream of an oceanographic research facility and suggests combining the two into the "Happer Institute", an idea that Happer likes. Later, Danny finds Marina swimming offshore and tells her the good news.

A sombre MacIntyre returns to his Houston apartment. The film then cuts back to a shot of the phone booth in Ferness; the telephone rings unanswered, to the music of Mark Knopfler's "Going Home".

[edit] Cast

The fictional Ferness beach.

[edit] Background

Forsyth slipped some sly references into the characters' names. The recurring theme of sea and sky is echoed in the names of the two principal women, Marina and Stella. Also, Ben shares his last name with Happer's oil company and the radio station MacIntyre listens to in his car at the opening of the film (KNOX).

[edit] Casting

According to The Sun newspaper, Warner Bros. wanted Henry Winkler to play the part of Mac, but Bill Forsyth rejected the idea.[2]

[edit] Locations

Local Hero was filmed at several places around Scotland. Most of the village scenes were filmed in Pennan on the Aberdeenshire coast, most of the beach scenes at Morar and Arisaig on the west coast.[3]

[edit] Critical reception

Critic Richard Skorman lauded the film, noting that, "Bill Forsyth's Local Hero spawned a series of imitations, creating a whole new genre of film—the wacky Scottish comedy...Built on a mountain of metaphysics, Local Hero, demands a few leaps of faith that are a bit difficult to make. But the premise of a yuppie from Texas traveling to an isolated town in Scotland to make poor but savvy fishermen wealthy is hilarious in itself...Forsyth also superbly contrasts the warmth of Scotland's North Shore with the impersonalization of super-modern Houston...[and] cinematographer Menges captures the serenity of the expansive beach and the power of the ocean and the stars as effectively as any filmmaker in recent history."[4]

Film critic Roger Ebert also gave the film a positive review, commenting, "Here is a small film to treasure, a loving, funny, understated portrait of a small Scottish town and its encounter with a giant oil company...And what could have been a standard plot about conglomerates and ecology, etc., turns instead into a wicked study of human nature."[5]

Variety magazine film critic Todd McCarthy wrote, "After making the grade internationally with the sleeper hit, Gregory's Girl, Scottish writer-director Bill Forsyth has broken the sophomore sesh jinx the only way he could, by making an even better film...Given a larger canvas, director Forsyth has in no way attempted to overreach himself or the material, keeping things modest and intimate throughout, but displaying a very acute sense of comic insight."[6]

Local Hero has a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes,[7] and was rated in the top 100 films of the 1980s in a Premiere magazine recap of the decade.

[edit] Music

The film's soundtrack, which outsold the film itself, was written by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, and is considered amongst his best work. This has led to the popularity of the film with fans of the band; Knopfler has since performed an arrangement of the main theme music ("Going Home") as an encore at many of his concerts.This tune borrows some riffs from traditional songs. 'Local Hero' from the soundtrack is played as Newcastle United take to the field in their home games played at St James' Park. It is also played at the end of Tranmere Rovers' home games.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Local Hero at the Internet Movie Database.
  2. ^ George Mair (February 5, 2009). "Hey...Fonzie was nearly Local Hero". The Sun. http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/article2206213.ece. Retrieved April 21, 2009. 
  3. ^ Scotland: the Movie Location Guide web site. Last accessed: 9 January 2008.
  4. ^ Skorman, Richard. Off-Hollywood Movies, film review of Local Hero, page 200. New York: Harmony Books, 1989. ISBN 0-517-56863-2.
  5. ^ Ebert, Roger. Chicago Sun-Times, film review, 15 April 1983. Last accessed: 11 January 2008.
  6. ^ McCarthy, Todd. Variety magazine, film review, 16 February 1983. Last accessed: 11 January 2008.
  7. ^ "Local Hero Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Uk.rottentomatoes.com. http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/local_hero/. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 

[edit] External links


Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Hero"