On a Clear Day

I saw this movie at Sundance, and it was brilliant. Beautiful shots, wonderful acting and such a moving story! It made me cry, it made me laugh (with Billy Boyd as much of the comic relief!), it made me want to see it again! Gaby Dellal's direction was spot on, and the emotions from each of the characters was so true, that I wanted to cheer Frank (Peter Mullen) on while swimming the English Channel and console him when he felt like he couldn't do anything.

The only thing that I had an "issue" with, was that at a few moments, the Scottish accent was so thick that I missed what was said. :P Oops!!! Otherwise, I hope this gets picked up and distributed, and I will DEFINITELY buy the DVD.

I also had the opportunity to see "On a Clear Day" at the world premiere on Friday night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I really hope that this film gets picked up because its main themes would probably be well received by mass audiences.

There was humor, family conflict, drama, and some great Scottish dialogue (some of which I do need to hear again in order to get ALL of the jokes.) It was just a great experience to be able to watch the film on location with all of the people who worked so hard to make it happen.

On a side note, my friends and I were able to meet Elijah Wood(even though he was not in the movie, he came to support Billy) and Billy afterwards. Being a hard-core Lord of the Rings fan, the experience was great. Please go and see it if you can!!

ON A CLEAR DAY is a wee Scottish film that is full to overflowing with heart and fine performances. Writer Alex Rose and Director Gaby Dellal have managed to explore the psyches of the ordinary folk who face the crises of unemployment, of strained family relations and the fear of loss of pride in one's self and have created not only a sympathetic story with a message, but have also delivered their story with humor and a glint of the eye that makes the whole thing work - very well indeed.

Frank (Peter Mullen) watches as the last ship he will ever have worked on is launched as his wife Joan (Brenda Blethyn) and his son Rob (Jamie Sives), daughter in law Angela (Johdi May), and grandson twins celebrate the launching. We soon learn that Frank is now jobless, that there is friction with his son Rob (who had been a twin but the other twin died at age 7) who doesn't have a traditional job but instead is a stay at home Dad. Money is tight and Joan secretly is training to be a bus driver. Franks cronies Eddie (Sean McGinley), Danny (Billy Boyd), and Norman (Ron Cook) see Frank slipping into depression. Frank spends his time swimming at the public swimming pool and while there he sees three young physically challenged boys trying and by will power succeeding to swim. Frank decides he needs to prove himself to his friends, family and himself and decides to swim the English Channel. He enlists his buddy Chan (Benedict Wong) and eventually his cronies and they prepare for the challenging swim. The manner in which this drive influences his marriage, his relationship with his son and his perception of himself is the driver for the very tender ending.

The cast is first class all the way, acting with that inimitable UK fashion of finding reality in the simplest of characters. The story is a joy to watch for its understated manner and for the glowing theme of the film. Recommended for all audiences. Grady Harp, July 06

I saw this at Sundance Sunday night (which was 3 days after opening night), and unfortunately none of the actors or the director could make it. That was disappointing, but nevertheless, the film was an enjoyable story of relationships being mended and of people adding meaning to their lives when they go through trials. I enjoyed the performances of all of the lead actors (and the supporting actors), particularly Brenda Blethyn. Perhaps it was because I saw this is a smaller multi-plex type theater (instead of Abravanel) that I didn't have any trouble understanding the dialog at all, and found the script to be well written and witty. Although everything ends up a little too neat in the end, this was still a drama that pulls the audience in and makes you care what happens to all involved. I am glad I had the opportunity to see it, regardless of whether the filmmakers showed up for the Q&A :)

This movie has strengths and weaknesses. Some of the strengths are its attempt to tell a 'real' story, without recourse to shtick, cliché, or pop-star trickery so common on TV and in movies these days. It seems obvious that the writer and director had visions of something deep, meaningful, as well as entertaining. Another strength is the reliance on the humans, and their real-world behaviors, fears, and hopes (etc.) for the 'current' flow of the movie. The camera lingers, the dialogue is written to enlighten us about the emotions (pleasant as well as despairing) of the characters. It may be said this is a character driven movie, perhaps? And, all of the cast do a commendable job of providing us with the characters' humanity and depth.

Some of the weaknesses, however, are how all of the individual components of the writer and director's vision are executed. Many of the threads of the story simply go nowhere--- not that we necessarily need a big plot-ish conclusion to everything. But we do need some sense, anyway, of what various expositions mean. Sure, we could accept a bit of non-convention, and even artiness, but some of the elements of this story never were stitched together with any other parts of the movie. Worse, those orphaned parts were never really stitched up as themselves--- i.e., they never really completed themselves, nor made any real sense in and of themselves. Without discussing plot details, let me breezily mention the parts with Chan, the Chinese chippy guy, for example. These had neither a start, nor a finish--- we simply saw one brief middle, as it were.

Overall, this is a pleasant movie--- but it isn't a great one. I looked up the director and the writer online, and didn't find much. If they are young, or young-ish, this effort might bode well. That is, this movie resembled a good student-like product from young and promising film makers. Young, in their careers anyway, regardless of their actual calendar year age, but very talented. People to watch in the future.

'On A Clear Day' made me think of quilt makers. Imagine a master-to-be quilt maker; a quilt making artist whose work will be celebrated in the UK and America, and featured on PBS and BBC documentaries and featured in museums, etc. And then imagine this future master's last 'student' project, when she was 17 years old or so, before the magic clicked and she got great. This student work shows genius and promise, both undelivered as of now. That's what 'Clear Day' is like--- a quilt whose individual pieces are great, showing bright and future success, but not put together very well, showing immaturity and a student just beginning to blossom. Oh, the cast was great, and they obviously did everything they were asked to do, and they did it very well. The ill-fitting chunks weren't their fault--- they were just an artifact of the awkward and 'green' directorial efforts.

Go see it anyway--- support the growth of these folks! I gave this an encouraging 8 out of 10.