Stone of Destiny

This film is another worthwhile addition to the litany of low budget Scottish films. It's short on explosions and other spectacular effects; instead it majors on how the events in the film bring out the true selves of the key characters, while retaining a streak of slightly whimsical comedy. It reminded me very much of "On A Clear Day" -- indeed, one or two of the same actors appear -- but that film was about a man finding his own soul; this film is about finding the soul of a nation. Furthermore, it's true ... OK, so some of the events are re-ordered or omitted for dramatic effect, but much of what you see really did happen. Even the filming venues are genuine ... you really are seeing Glasgow University and you really are seeing the interior of Westminster Abbey. The music is genuinely Scottish too ... 'Wild Mountain Thyme' and 'Scots Wha Hae With Wallace Bled' form a lot of the backing music.

See this if you enjoyed 'On a Clear Day'; to a lesser extent it's also like 'The Full Monty', 'Heartlands', and 'Braveheart'.

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.

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!).

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.

I for one would like to enter a plea on its behalf that people should see this film and make up their own minds. As someone who knows something about shaping a story, I am sure that a wider audience will find it a very competent adventure story with moments of real suspense, while for Scots it gives them the flavour of a moment in history and catches very authentically the emotions roused in a wide range of people by the Stone's recovery. The participants, though young, had potentially too much to lose for the raid to be dismissed as a student prank. Like it or not, there was real patriotic fervour at work here and a desire to remedy an old wrong. This is a well written, well acted film, although the reaction of the Scottish critics would have you think otherwise. It is hard to know what personal or professional uncertainty made for such a grudging reception, but it would be a pity if it meant that fewer people saw the film.