Stone of Destiny

Since around the 9th century, tradition holds that Scottish monarchs took their place upon the Stone of Scone during their coronation ceremony, until 1296 when it was captured by Edward I and placed in Westminster Abbey under a seat upon which English sovereigns were crowned, thereby showing the English power over the Scots. "Stone of Destiny" tells the true story of Ian Hamilton, a young student and nationalist, who was to attempt to return the Stone to its rightful place in Scotland and thereby right a long-standing injustice by the English.

The cast is strong and features the likes of Robert Carlyle, Brenda Fricker and Billy Boyd (that "fool of a Took"). However, Charlie Cox once again caught my attention following his leading role in Stardust. Given he is not a native Scot, he makes a great effort at the accent, and again manages to portray his character with a great balance of likability, determination and youthful exuberance, and gives us hope that some of the next generation's leading men can combine acting and looking good... Director Charles Martin Smith does wonderfully in conveying the underdog theme brilliantly with a good balance of action, comedy and emotion. It's a definite feel-good movie, with the people around me clapping at the end. 5 stars, a British gem.

Stone of Destiny is stirring and while it never claims to be Braveheart it does capture a lot of what Scotland's quest to be free is all about; and is surprisingly moving.

A fun film about the true theft of the very potent symbol of Scottish heritage also known as Jacob's Pillow (As Jacob was meant to have slept on it after wrestling the angel in Genesis): the Scottish coronation stone.

It is simply told with old-fashioned values - it reminded us of 1950s cinema - something about a good story well-told, a caper with moral vision, if you will.

Above all it was fun. The time whizzed by and it really is an entertaining watch. The attempts to capture the 50s are good, there are some slight anachronisms here and there but overall it holds good. The actors all give it their all and there is a real sense of fun to be had here.

If you want a great adventure story and like true stories then this will definitely be your cup of tea.

I for one would like to enter a plea on its behalf that people should see this film and make up their own minds. As someone who knows something about shaping a story, I am sure that a wider audience will find it a very competent adventure story with moments of real suspense, while for Scots it gives them the flavour of a moment in history and catches very authentically the emotions roused in a wide range of people by the Stone's recovery. The participants, though young, had potentially too much to lose for the raid to be dismissed as a student prank. Like it or not, there was real patriotic fervour at work here and a desire to remedy an old wrong. This is a well written, well acted film, although the reaction of the Scottish critics would have you think otherwise. It is hard to know what personal or professional uncertainty made for such a grudging reception, but it would be a pity if it meant that fewer people saw the film.

I recently saw this at the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival. This is an adventure-comedy based on the real-life story of Ian Hamilton (Charlie Cox) who as a college student in Edinbourough, Scotland hatches an unlikely plot with the aid of a handful of fellow student to break into Wesminster Abbey in London and return to it's native land of Scotland the Stone of Destiny that for centuries has served as the coronation stone for the kings and queens of England. It's a feel-good enjoyable story based on Hamiltons book with the screenplay by director Charles Martin Smith. Smith as an American actor is known for his roles in such films as American Graffiti, The Untouchables, The Buddy Holly Story and Starman turns out a great product here in this little film as it's director. I would give it an 8.0 out of 10 and recommend it.

This film is another worthwhile addition to the litany of low budget Scottish films. It's short on explosions and other spectacular effects; instead it majors on how the events in the film bring out the true selves of the key characters, while retaining a streak of slightly whimsical comedy. It reminded me very much of "On A Clear Day" -- indeed, one or two of the same actors appear -- but that film was about a man finding his own soul; this film is about finding the soul of a nation. Furthermore, it's true ... OK, so some of the events are re-ordered or omitted for dramatic effect, but much of what you see really did happen. Even the filming venues are genuine ... you really are seeing Glasgow University and you really are seeing the interior of Westminster Abbey. The music is genuinely Scottish too ... 'Wild Mountain Thyme' and 'Scots Wha Hae With Wallace Bled' form a lot of the backing music.

See this if you enjoyed 'On a Clear Day'; to a lesser extent it's also like 'The Full Monty', 'Heartlands', and 'Braveheart'.