Local Hero
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| Local Hero | |
|---|---|
 Local Hero DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Bill Forsyth |
| Produced by | David Puttnam |
| Written by | Bill Forsyth |
| Starring | Burt Lancaster Peter Riegert Fulton Mackay Denis Lawson |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | February 17, 1983 (USA) |
| Running time | 111 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Local Hero (1983) is a British comedy film starring Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert, Fulton Mackay and Denis Lawson, directed by Bill Forsyth. It was produced by David Puttnam.
The movie is set in the fictional fishing village of Ferness on the 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, and the Scottish scenery is beautifully filmed.
[edit] Plot
"Mac" MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) is a typical 1980s hot-shot executive working for Knox Oil and Gas in Houston, Texas. His lavish apartment is furnished with all the latest modern gadgets.
The eccentric chief of the company, Felix Happer (Burt Lancaster), sends MacIntyre to Scotland to acquire the village of Ferness to make way for a refinery, largely because his surname sounds Scottish. Mac (who is actually of Hungarian extraction) is a little apprehensive about his assignment, complaining to co-workers that he would much rather take care of business over the phone and via telex machines.
Happer, an avid astronomy buff, wants to have his name on something; it bothers him that his father didn't change the company's name when he bought it - this manifests itself in Happer's search for a comet to discover and name. He tells Mac to watch the sky while visiting Scotland, especially around the constellation Virgo.
Upon arriving in Scotland, Mac teams up with local Knox representative Danny Oldsen (Peter Capaldi), who is fluent in about a dozen languages. During a visit to a Knox research facility, Mac and Danny learn the scope of the company's plans, which will essentially involve the complete removal of Ferness, replacing it with the refinery. There they meet (and admire) Knox marine researcher Marina (Jenny Seagrove).
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, even feigning disinterest to try and induce a larger offer from Knox Oil & Gas. Mac receives encouragement from an unlikely source: a capitalistic Russian boat captain who defies international boundaries to pay periodic visits to his friends in Ferness (and check on his investment portfolio with Gordon).
Meanwhile, Danny befriends Marina, who is under the impression the company is planning to build a research centre at Ferness, not a refinery. During one romantic interlude, 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 won't 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, mistaking 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 move the refinery offshore and set up an astronomical observatory instead. He instructs MacIntyre to go home to implement these 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. Afterwards, when she dives underwater, she appears to be sporting a mermaid-like fin. (Whether she actually is a mermaid is left to the viewer's imagination.)
The movie closes with a somber MacIntyre in his apartment as he pins photos of Ferness to his bulletin board; the film then cuts back to a shot of the phone booth in Ferness, as the telephone rings endlessly, to the music of Mark Knopfler's Going Home.
[edit] Trivia
- Local Hero was filmed in several locations around Scotland. Most of the village scenes were filmed in Pennan on the Aberdeenshire coast, and most of the beach scenes at Morar on the west coast.
- MacIntyre communicates with Happer via a payphone opposite the hotel. There wasn't a real phone booth in Pennan, but in response to the disappointment of visiting fans, one was installed (though not at the same spot as in the film).
- 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 film becoming quite popular with fans of the band, and Knopfler has since performed the main theme music, Going Home, as an encore at most of his concerts.
- Association Football club Newcastle United currently plays the Local Hero theme tune when its players emerge on the pitch at the start of a game.
- The radio station on in Mac's car at the opening of the movie is Houston K-N-O-X.
- On the DVD release, during the scene of the meteor shower, MacIntyre exclaims "Holy Cow". However, the movement of his mouth is not suggestive of these words.
- Lawson (Gordon) is Ewan McGregor's uncle.
- 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 the oil company.
- Local Hero was referenced in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Episode that mocked the movie Monster A Go-Go. Had Joel and the Bots won the episode's invention exchange, they would have watched Local Hero instead.
- The phrase "high energy protons spilling over into our atmosphere," spoken by Marina as she briefly explains the aurora borealis, is sampled in Juno Reactor's song High Energy Protons. A sample of Burt Lancaster saying "you're going to have a wonderful trip" also appears in that song.
