Review of Local Hero (1983) by Nigel L — 07 Aug 2008

Bill Forsyth's career went horribly downhill after he moved to America, proving that some people not only won't hit the big time by going to the supposed centre of their industry but will even suffer terminal damage from it.

Still, we have four wonderful films from his early Scottish career, and this is probably the best of the lot.

Rising executive �Mac� MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) is sent by Felix Happer, the eccentric boss of his Texas oil company (Burt Lancaster) to a small village on the Scottish coast to negotiate the purchase of an entire village, for demolition to build an oil refinery, on the grounds that his ancestry will provide a link to soften up the locals (or at least, that's what his managers think...). Happer, however has his sights set on higher things than the company realise and briefs Mac to help carry out his plans, mostly to the latter's bewilderment..

Once there, Mac finds himself falling for the local atmosphere (and at least one of the locals), completely unaware that the villagers are even keener to sell than the company are to buy, and soon comes to regret his initial mercenary motives. As he regretfully begins to wrap up a deal in which he no longer has his heart, he discovers a fly in the villagers' carefully compounded ointment, in the person of an old beachcomber (Fulton Mackay).

With Happer's unplanned arrival, precipitated unknowingly by Mac's dutiful reports, the film works its way to an unintended, but retrospectively obvious conclusion and Mac is sent, not altogether willingly, back to Houston.

The film winds to a beautifully ambiguous coda, to the accompaniment of Mark Knopfler's glorious soundtrack that has subtly illuminated the entire film.

With all this, and an oceanographer who just might me a mermaid, what more could you want?