Year of release: 2013
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: George MacKay, Antonia Thomas, Freya Mavor, Kevin
Guthrie, Peter Mullan, Jane Horrocks
I went to see this film a few weeks ago after my dad pointed
it out to me. It’s a musical film which is based on the popular stage
production (of the same name) and it features the music of the Scottish band
The Proclaimers. From what I had heard about it, the film seemed to be quite a
hit and it was being heralded as this year’s Mamma Mia. I must admit, I do love
musical films (not all of them – (some are intolerable) and I really enjoyed
Mamma Mia so this film seemed very much up my alley.
The story follows the lives of Davy (George MacKay) and Ally
(Kevin Guthrie), two young British Army soldiers, as they return home to
Edinburgh after completing their service in Afghanistan. On return to
Edinburgh, Ally is reunited with his girlfriend (and sister of Davy), Liz
(Freya Mavor), whilst Davy is introduced to his sister’s English friend Yvonne
(Antonia Thomas) during a celebratory night in the pub (where else?!) where they
all get spectacularly drunk and sing riotously with their friends. The film
certainly kicks off in high spirits and as friends reunite and romances blossom,
the boys begin to look out onto a brighter future, one that is a world apart
from their lives in Afghanistan.
Whilst the film does centre primarily around Davy and Ally,
there is a second plotline which follows the relationship of Davy and Liz’s
parents, Rab (Peter Mullan) and Jean (Jane Horrocks). In somewhat soap opera
style, Rab receives a letter from his long lost daughter (that he didn’t know
he had) just days before he is due to celebrate 25 years of wedded bliss with
his wife. Bad timing that, really. Yes, the relationships amongst the
characters are not without drama and each couple faces some sort of dispute or
upheaval that they must work to deal with at some point during the film. Whilst
the drama does seem a little frivolous at times (like I said, it is something you
would expect to see on a soap opera), it does add a bit of spice to the story.
It isn’t all lovey-dovey, soppy, over-the-top romance like in a lot of
musicals, so the drama does serve to add a little bit more realism and grit to
the story – no couple is perfect which made the characters more relatable. I
thought Ally and Liz made the best on screen couple – they were certainly the
most believable pairing and they worked very well together. But the pairing of
Davy and Yvonne didn’t really work for me. I felt they lacked chemistry in
places and I found their romance a little hard to buy at times. It was also
quite hard to understand what some of the actors were saying at times – the
Scots talk very fast and they had pretty strong accents, so it was hard to
catch what they said in places. But this was only on occasion, so don’t be put
off watching because of the Scottish accent!
Whilst the characters are likeable and the relationships are
entertaining to watch unfold, it is the music that really sells this film and
is what ultimately wins you over. There really isn’t a bad song on the
soundtrack. Every single one is a hit and for the most part, the songs are
lively, upbeat and extremely catchy. The Proclaimers certainly know how to
deliver toe-tapping hits! ‘I’m On My Way’, ‘Over and Done With’, ‘Let’s Get
Married’ and ‘Oh Jean’ were amongst my favourites, but of course you end up
sitting there through the whole film waiting for that one song, that one big
hit that everybody knows – which is typically left right until the end. Yes,
‘Gonna Be (500 miles)’ is the song that most people know and it is the one that
we were all sat waiting for (right? Just me?). When it finally arrived, it
provided the most jubilant and joyous ending (that we all expected really) and
prompted a huge sing and dance along in the middle of Edinburgh.
The song did
feel very staged, as did a few other numbers, but they were all great fun to
watch, and to be honest, it was everything you expected from a musical. So even
if you aren’t that familiar with their music (I only knew a few songs), the
film is still enjoyable to watch and it isn’t restricted to Proclaimers fans
alone, so don’t be put off if you don’t know the music. The cast did an
excellent job with the singing and the musical scenes were performed with real
energy and gusto that really helped to bring the story to life.
It
would have made the perfect summer hit, but this feel-good hit is sure to
brighten up even the dreariest of winter days.
Favourite bit: The bit in the pub when all the men sing’ Let’s Get Married’. It’s cheeky, boisterous and comical rendition of a fab song.
Rating: 7.5/10
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