Big Man

It was a nice low budget movie. Liam Neeson's acting was fabulous in the film. I watched this movie because I am on a mission to complete watching all Liam Neeson's movie. If you are a boxing fan and Liam Neeson is your favorite, it's a must watch.

Based on a novel (of the same name) by the late, great William McIlvanney, directed by David Leland (he of Wish You Were here and TV's Made in Britain and Birth of a Nation fame), with a score by Ennio Morricone and a stunning cast, including (in approximate merit order) Ian Bannen, Maurice Roeves, Billy Connolly, Liam Neeson, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Peter Mullan ('young' and underused), Julie Graham, Hugh Grant and, in cameo roles, Douglas Henshall and Jack Shepherd, plus many great supporting character actors, Leland's 1990 film had 'classic' written all over it. Why then does it 'score' so moderately, critically? A recent rewatching (the first time since the film's release) had me concluding that the lukewarm reception is still somewhat inexplicable. OK, the premise of Neeson's (post-1980s strike) ex-miner and Scot, Danny Scoular, looking 'to make good', escape his (now) jobless, emasculating existence and provide for his wife (Whalley-Kilmer's Beth) and family by taking up the lucrative offer by Bannen's Mr Big, Matt Mason, of a bare knuckle fight, is not exactly an original idea, but Leland's uncompromising direction, Don MacPherson's sharp script and the level of acting talent on show make for a never less than intriguing watch.

As is invariably the case with the man, Connolly's presence on screen (big or little) tends towards a nailed-on positive and here, as Mason's wisecracking 'fixer', Frankie, the Big Yin is again given most of the best lines, some of which are delivered (in a highlight scene) to Danny's pet dog! Certainly, of course, (authentic) accents are not a problem for Connolly nor for each of ('natives') Bannen or Roeves (the latter as Mason's gang rival and counter-better, Cam Colvin). Whalley-Kilmer struggles the most in this respect, whilst Grant's 'posh Edinburgh' brogue as Beth's stand-in lover, Gordon, is rather assured. Thematically, as well as Danny's need to provide, Leland gives us a reasonably engaging political and community backdrop, Danny quipping that he has 'not a criminal record, a political record' whilst his local neighbourhood gather to give him a send-off against the backdrop of a disused coal mine. In terms of visual invention, Leland gives us an uncompromising, extended fight sequence (to Morricone's memorable staccato accompaniment), plus some unexpected (and repeated) cutting to a (Sexy Beast-like - could Jonathan Glazer have taken inspiration from Leland here?) Spanish, lilo sun-bathing portly ex-gangster (whose relevance latterly becomes apparent).

Given McIlvanney's outstanding (poetic and descriptive) qualities as a writer, Leland's film could, I guess, be criticised (as for many literary screen adaptations) for not quite capturing the magic of the author's prose and imagination. As a comparator, given the film's take on family angst set against a political backdrop, the most obvious comparator would be Mark Herman's 1996 film, Brassed Off. Leland's film may not quite match that, but it runs it mighty close.

I liked this film a lot. It is about a working-class family in a town in Scotland, with the father (Liam Neeson) and mother (Whalley-Kilmer) at odds. At issue is Neeson's desire to earn for his family, in a more lucrative measure than he did during the dozen years he spent as a miner.

When Neeson receives an offer to get back into the ring for a bare-knuckles fight in Glasgow, he accepts - for the money, he says, though there are intimations that fighting is more than a job for him. The fight has been organized by two local shady characters, and the organized crime element looms large in the film. The resulting conflicts envelop Neeson, his family and friends, and his community.

There is a lot of talent at work in "The Big Man" (also called "Crossing the Line"), including excellent music by the legendary Ennio Morricone. Hugh Grant has a cameo doing a passable Scottish accent. Neeson is, of course, a world-class actor, and anything he is in is worthwhile seeing.

The production feels like a labor of love for all concerned, and the results show. The fight scene is not for the faint of heart.

Nobody ever claimed this was a great movie, but surely the fact that nearly 25 minutes were cut from the U.S. release (retitled "Crossing the Line" from original "The Big Man") explains why no one was enthusiastic about it over here. I finally got around to watching the cut version (still the only one available in the U.S., I believe), and it seems choppy and formulaic in a way that suggests the extras that often make all the difference-atmosphere, character background, nuance-were exactly what got cut. This results in a movie that should be better, particularly with this cast, but never rises above adequate.

The family's struggles in a tough Scottish economy, the criminal connections Neeson is lured into et al. aren't properly established before they're taken for granted by the narrative, giving them little force. In particularly, Whalley-Kilmer hardly has a character to play, though she and the kids are the entire reason Neeson's figure lets himself get sucked into the fighting he doesn't at all want to do save for the money. Hugh Grant turns up briefly, and in this edit, it's not even clear who his character is or why he's here.

When we finally get to a proper fight (opposite Rab Affleck, who'd been a champion boxer in real life before this movie started his acting career), it's powerfully brutal. Neeson fans will probably never have seen him in such spectacular physical condition before, and he's fully committed in acting terms here as well. The later parts of the film feel less truncated than the early progress, which presumably most of the American-release cuts came out of, so it does get better.

Yet in its U.S. cut, at least, this isn't exactly a good boxing, domestic or crime drama, but an underdeveloped muddle of all three. While it's still not a bad film, you can certainly tell they had something better in mind. The much higher regard it's held in by people who've seen the two-hour "Big Man" version makes it clear that that's the film to see, not "Crossing the Line."

This started as an entertaining mix between Rocky and Hard Times (with a British twist) but as the film moves on a lot of hidden depth shows and the real quality of this film starts to shine through. The plot is about Danny Scholar (played superbly by Liam Neeson), an unemployed ex-miner who is struggling to put food on the table for his family. He is offered money by a local crime boss to compete in a bare knuckle fight yet the details of why he is fighting are left ambiguous. He accepts but is soon caught up in more than he expected when the real reasons behind the fight become apparent. This is all set in a small working class village in Scotland. Liam Neeson is joined by a superb cast including Billy Connolly, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and none other than Hugh Grant before he became a megastar. There's also lots of familiar faces from British TV. The settings are what I enjoyed most about this film, maybe because a large portion of the films I watch are set abroad and it was nice to see something closer to home. Especially in a film that was very down-to-earth and realistic. This is reflected in the actual fight, I'm not lying when I say it's got to be the most brutal, realistic and down right nasty fist fight I've seen on screen. Imagine Hard Times just with five times more blood and dirty tactics and that's basically what you've got. But where as Hard Times was more action orientated this leans more towards drama with the only action scene being the excellent fist fight in the middle. Oh did I forget the score for the film was also composed by the legendary Ennio Morricone. Everything just felt like some real time and effort was put in to make this and this is clearly apparent when watching it. Recommended!