On a Clear Day
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Movie Reviews of On a Clear Day
Movie Review: Rescued by cinematic craft
Summary: 4 Stars
Frank Redmond and his friends at the Glasgow Shipyard have just launched their last vessel. Now they have been laid off and are struggling to restart their lives after decades of sure employment. Frank is taking his new status particularly hard, and seems on the verge of a heart attack or nervous breakdown when he has an idea -- why not resurrect his self-esteem by swimming the English Channel?
"On a Clear Day" boils down to a story we have seen a thousands times: the underdog who struggles valiantly against all odds to reclaim his dignity and (more importantly) learn about Life. Think "The Bad News Bears," "Calendar Girls" and "The Full Monty." What rescues this film from the banality of repetition is the superb cast, the inclusion of neat motifs and the diversion of a few interesting subplots.
The main subplot relates to an unresolved tragedy in Frank's family that keeps him from being opening up to his son. Then, Frank's wife is secretly trying to get her bus-driving license to supplement the diminished family income, something she doesn't want Frank to find out.
There's not much suspense in the film -- in the sense that only a completely boorish or devilishly artsy director would withhold some form of ultimate triumph -- but it's fun watching this cast of misfits get there. These include the Chinese cook who can't stand up to abuse from his customers and suppliers; the goofy young lad (Billy Boyd in a post-LOTR/Pippin role) who wants (but can't manage) to be just like Frank; and the middle-aged man equally afraid of women and sailing. The strained relationship between Frank (Peter Mullan) and his son Rob (Jamie Sives) is exquisitely painful, and unfolds through marvelous scenes in which neither says a word, but in which the audience knows exactly what each is thinking and feeling. A phenomenal piece of acting, writing and editing that raises this film from a hum-drum 3 stars to a more exalted 4.
Movie Review: One small additional praise
Summary: 4 Stars
When Hollywood films the burnt out/disoriented/jobless/had-some-tough-breaks guy who seeks to recover/rebuild his life tale, they always throw in a couple of idiotic touches that cause me to retch. The hero drives an MG or 70s Caddy convertible (or may be restoring one so he CAN drive it), or though a life-long low-level corporate schlub or high school teacher, lives in a mansion, or has a 50 year old wife who looks 20. They do not trust us to care about someone unless they pile it on, making the ordinary decidedly unordinary. But not so here. This film rings true and honest in every detail, large or small. These are very normal, very ordinary, and very familiar and very interesting people.
Excellent performances, from kids to geezers. A lovely setting. No phony sentimentality, but utterly convincing and real. Nice job all around; a film that, even though there are no surprises anywhere, will leave you smiling. Just a pleasure to watch.
Movie Review: A good movie for older adults
Summary: 4 Stars
Frank is laid off from his job and feels like his life is over. Slowly he gets himself together and decides to swim the English channel.
I liked Frank and his wife Joan a lot. I admired Joan wanting to try something different (learning to drive a bus). Frank's friends are interesting and seem like real people too.
My one complaint is there wasn't captioning. I had a difficult time understanding their accents occasionally and I felt I missed some important dialog.
Movie Review: Kept Me Laughing
Summary: 4 Stars
It is a wonderful film about "real life" people. I think it is really hard to pull that off and keep it interesting when so many viewers are used to Hollywood glitz. But this movie was full of laugh-out-loud scenes and the dialogue was great. Though, the soundtrack volume choices left something to be desired for American ears struggling with accents. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, and laughing at their antics.Movie Review: "The lads are borrowing a boat to help Frank swim the Channel"
Summary: 3 Stars
With all intents and purposes, On A Clear Day should be a terrific movie - the acting is strong, the direction is polished and the stark Glasgow, Dover, and Isle of Man landscapes also help toughen up the mood. Then why was my reaction to the movie so lukewarm? Perhaps it's because On A Clear Day is a retread of so much that has come before it.
Like a waterlogged and less persuasive iteration of The Full Monty, director Gaby Dellal's movie is another the tale of working-class heroes, the salt of the earth who lose their jobs but, by taking on a seemingly impracticable, even outlandish challenge, maintain their self-respect, and even get to squelch the ghosts of their past.
In this case, it's the - admittedly quite brilliant Peter Mullen - playing a retrenched ship builder who decides to swim the English Channel. At the same time he gets to tackle with estrangement with Rob, his adult son (Jamie Sives) and deal with issues of honesty with Joan his late middle-aged Scottish wife (Brenda Blethyn).
Frank (Mullen) just doesn't know what to do with himself after he gets laid off from the Glasgow shipbuilding company. Understandably upset Frank and his former colleagues spend their newly empty days facing the indignities of the employment offices, visiting bemused members of their extended families and swimming out their frustrations down at the city pool.
In fact, doing the daily laps becomes Frank's only source of consolation and with all this free time on his hands he decides at age fifty-five swimming the English Channel is a way to move on from his past. Frank is haunted by a tragedy involving a son he lost to the sea when the lad was seven and his relationship with his grown son Rob (Sives) is almost nonexistent, so Frank's decision to swim the Channel is a way of winning his heart back into the family.
The storyline is slight, almost textbook in its inexorableness and the film is riddled with cliché's. Also, Frank's aspiration - while no doubt admirable, doesn't make a lot of sense. If he wants to remake himself in the eyes of his family, he could hardly have chosen a more isolating pastime, and it is hardly going to help his family. It's also uncertain how he pays the bills while he spends every day at the pool. And why does he inexplicably lie to both his son and his wife?
Brenda Blethyn as Joan and Jamie Sives as Rob are both excellent in their supporting roles, but the subplots involving their characters seem tacked on, underwritten and ultimately rather trivial. All she wants is to learn to drive a bus. Of course, these are working-class people, but a movie needs a little more oomph than the dream of getting a bus license.
And likewise, Rob is supposed to be a stay-at-home dad - and the scenes where he's shown lovingly caring for his young twins - are indeed touching, but his conflict over not working is never really developed as well as it should be. Similarly, Frank's assortment of kooky, diffident friends are all served up as sort of stock stereotypes; of course they're loveable, but we've seen them all before in other similarly themed English films.
I guess the main reason to watch On A Clear Day is Peter Mullen's quite affecting and subtle performance as Frank. He's a crusty, sexy salt of the earth type, a man who has spent much of his life punching the clock with a time card. He's well and truly been imbued with the protestant work ethic and a kind of obstinate pride. Mullen delicately lets you see how Frank was able to push unhappy thoughts of his dead son from his mind as long as he was working, but with too much time on his hands, he is forced to confront these long buried emotions.
In the end, On A Clear day does attempt to make some pertinent social observations about following your dreams into late middle age, the effects of redundancy and unemployment, and the benefits of never giving up. But the film does this in such a trite, corny and predicable way that certain scenes feel as though they have been padded out to the point of distraction, and it almost feels as though the film as a whole is threatening to swim away from you. Mike Leonard July 06.