Stone of Destiny

It's 1950 Glasgow. Ian Hamilton (Charlie Cox) and his friend Bill Craig (Billy Boyd) are young Scottish Nationalists. John MacCormick (Robert Carlyle) is pushing for a Scottish Parliament and home rule. There is much apathy at home and rejection in London. Ian comes up with the idea of retaking the Stone of Destiny. It was the seat of Scottish royalty that was taken by the English to Westminster Abbey in London and incorporated into the Coronation Chair. Ian cases the Abbey and goes to MacCormick for financial help who is surprised by his lowly £50 request. Bill backs out fearing arrest. MacCormick directs Ian to Kay Matheson (Kate Mara) who brings along strong Gavin Vernon who then brings along his skinny friend Alan Stuart and a rundown car.

This works as a good old fashion caper film. It's got plenty of underdog and a large splash of Scottish nationalism. Charlie Cox is solid with the wide-eyed youthful exuberance. The group's chemistry is generally good. The ending gets a bit too sentimental but that's perfectly fine for this movie.

Scotland 1950. Student Ian Hamilton, frustrated by what appears to be a lack of spirit in the people of Scotland, hatches a plan to steal the Stone Of Destiny from Westminster Abbey, and bring it home....

The movie is based on a book written by Hamilton himself. Now, I've not read it, so I'm not sure what the author will think of the finished movie, but I enjoyed it. Written for the screen and directed by Charles Martin Smith, this is Scotland as portrayed by Americans. It's a romantic, sweeping place, full of downtrodden Scots. It's a view of Scotland that you only ever see in the movies. However, it fits the mood of the piece, as this movie does have an old-fashioned feel about it. It recalls the Ealing movies of the '50s, with the whole thing if not played out for laughs, then certainly with a lot of humour in the drama.

The robbers, as portrayed by Charlie Cox, Kate Mara, Ciaron Kelly and Stephen McCole, come over as enthusiastic, if bumbling students who manage to steal the Stone through luck as much as anything else. The movie definitely sides with them.

The cast which also includes Robert Carlyle, Peter Mullan and Billy Boyd are very good indeed, even if some of the accents don't convince.

I'm not sure how historically accurate the movie is, but as a movie, while it does have an old-fashioned feel, it is enjoyable and good natured, and like Braveheart before it, make you proud to be Scottish!

Since around the 9th century, tradition holds that Scottish monarchs took their place upon the Stone of Scone during their coronation ceremony, until 1296 when it was captured by Edward I and placed in Westminster Abbey under a seat upon which English sovereigns were crowned, thereby showing the English power over the Scots. "Stone of Destiny" tells the true story of Ian Hamilton, a young student and nationalist, who was to attempt to return the Stone to its rightful place in Scotland and thereby right a long-standing injustice by the English.

The cast is strong and features the likes of Robert Carlyle, Brenda Fricker and Billy Boyd (that "fool of a Took"). However, Charlie Cox once again caught my attention following his leading role in Stardust. Given he is not a native Scot, he makes a great effort at the accent, and again manages to portray his character with a great balance of likability, determination and youthful exuberance, and gives us hope that some of the next generation's leading men can combine acting and looking good... Director Charles Martin Smith does wonderfully in conveying the underdog theme brilliantly with a good balance of action, comedy and emotion. It's a definite feel-good movie, with the people around me clapping at the end. 5 stars, a British gem.

Stone of Destiny is stirring and while it never claims to be Braveheart it does capture a lot of what Scotland's quest to be free is all about; and is surprisingly moving.

A fun film about the true theft of the very potent symbol of Scottish heritage also known as Jacob's Pillow (As Jacob was meant to have slept on it after wrestling the angel in Genesis): the Scottish coronation stone.

It is simply told with old-fashioned values - it reminded us of 1950s cinema - something about a good story well-told, a caper with moral vision, if you will.

Above all it was fun. The time whizzed by and it really is an entertaining watch. The attempts to capture the 50s are good, there are some slight anachronisms here and there but overall it holds good. The actors all give it their all and there is a real sense of fun to be had here.

If you want a great adventure story and like true stories then this will definitely be your cup of tea.

My wife and I took our 10 year old. The time didn't drag and it was nicely done. Not a life changing, earth shattering film that you'd necessarily bother to see again, but it passed a pleasant evening and we were glad we'd gone to see it. It captured the sometimes bumbling and chaotic nature of of this kind of endeavour, and there were a few edge of the seat moments. The acting was fine and it captured the feel of a different era when we weren't so paranoid about terrorism and public buildings were much more easily accessible. I guess a lot of non-Scots won't fully understand the reference to the Declaration of Arbroath (I saw it on display in Edinburgh many years ago and it blew me away - and I'm an Englishman!).