Restless Natives

Restless Natives will begin with a series of intimidating compositions introducing to us two young men in ownership of a motorcycle and whom appear to be somewhat less than hospitable. In close up format of various parts of their bodies, the pair don helmets and leather clothing to an ominous drum beating periodically so as to ride out into the rural nothingness of what turns out to be the Scottish highlands. They are there to rob, thieve and steal from the hapless people inhabiting vehicles whom may make their way down the remote road nearby; and when one car does arrive housing an upper-class English family out on holiday, they fail to impose themselves and the attempted robbery actually turns into a coming to the aid of the lost family. The film jumps from one thing to another in relatively quick time, painting an image of the people we're supposed to be dealing with before effectively demythifying them as these amateurish and rather hapless young men trying to raise money. Therein lies the nature of the film, a piece going to impressive lengths to deconstruct and explore two young Scottish men as well as their lives and mindsets after being later labelled as something else, in what is an an edifying and thoroughly engaging little British film from 1985 which really hits the marks it aims for.

Vincent Friell plays one of them, named Will; a young man who's the son of a married couple and a brother to one sister living a working class life in Scotland. He sweeps roads, but maintains a healthy relationship with his family and other young friend of equal age Ronnie (Mullaney), a local kid who's an employee of the town's joke shop. Both of the boys are at a stage in their lives in which aspirations are appearing to form and the moulding of the early stages of adulthood appear ostensible, with both boy's issues and problems primarily work and girl orientated; Will despises his luckless job as a road sweeper and running the joke shop can be rather a pain for Ronnie. One day, out of sheer blind maddening suggestion in what effectively begins as a bit of fun, they decide to use some joke shop equipment in a pair of masks, a toy Luger pistol and a foam gun; ride up into the hills as they've done so before and rob coach loads of tourists. What follows is a film which hops from coming of age tale; to romance; to police procedural thriller all wrapped up into one really effective delivery.

American director Michael Hoffman, working from a Ninian Dunnett script, keeps everything in check; aside from the romp that it is, Restless Natives is ultimately a cautionary tale about the pratfalls of crime and a somewhat lowly conceived adopting of celebrity status. Aside from anything else, it is a very good and very involving one. The two attain somewhat of a cult following as the police, led by Ned Beatty's character, struggle to apprehend them; effectively rendering them Robin Hood figures in that their taking from the people specifically there so as to pump money back into the system, through tourism, before distributing the cash to, on occasion, the homeless around the area. An irony here reading something along the lines of tourism in the area booming like rarely before, because of the potential at being held up by these two or the chance of catching a glimpse of them. The social affect the two anonymous thieves have on everybody is highlighted in Will's own father's (played by Bernard Hill) natural reaction to them upon a newspaper report; here being a man whom berates the charge on his gas bill before complimenting the two bandits on their work he deems was was only going to pump money back into the already established-to-be-greedy system in the first place.

Things become complicated when Will spies local tour guide Margot (Lally) during one of the runs, the venturing to the coach depot a dangerous ploy in the face of blind affection to do what he does in attempting to find her so as to woo her. Margot's attraction to Will is natural and unforced, her fascination with folk figures or mythical people whom have gone on to become legends, or whatnot, is the reason she's a tour guide thanks to her knowledge on such things; in Will, a person whom has been previously labelled exactly this is right in front of her and beginning to interact with her. Complications arise, people close to the leads begin to discover the truths surrounding them and Will's own relationship with Ronnie hits its own barriers when the moral implications of their actions are explored.

Hoffman balances all of the strands, characters and content really well; Will's actions eventually seeing him congratulated by a shady English criminal at a local snooker club as well as those of a similar sort around him. The club of which is decked out in a dangerous red shade, those located within of a criminal mindset and here highlighting the path Will seems to have been given the opportunity to go down should he so wish; his brief newfound sense of friendship with these people echoing what he had before with Ronnie in the joke shop. The locales are key here, the joke shop being an operative place of business more broadly representing a righteous and moral way of life through earning a living; with the snooker club and most of those whom inhabit it a path more representative of an immoral or sinful way of life, somewhere by which robbing people effectively gets you. Restless Natives appears to be the sort of rare find one just doesn't discover, and at a time when the current climate of coming of age tales are mostly processions of crass and putrid sex jokes, it is a crying shame more people apparently cannot be exposed to films such as this.

This is the kind of film that always cracks a smile on your dial. It's cute without being irritating, it's stupid without being offensive - it's all you want in an old fashioned comedy. And the accents are like honey lozengers; infact this is the very film you should watch if you are ill, or recovering from a hangover wrapped in a blanket infront of the TV. And the soundtrack by Big Country is an absolute hoot! What a film!!

Yes, if you didn't already know, the excellent soundtrack of this film was composed by Stuart Adamson and performed by his band Big Country. We'll get to that in a minute. "Restless Natives" is a cute, quirky, distinctly Scottish comedy about 2 young losers who flirt with a life of crime, only to become national heroes for it.

The presentation is wonderfully absurd. Don't expect realism. Don't raise any eyebrows when our 2 anti-heroes rob scores of people using pink plastic toy guns. And don't scoff when the victims of their robberies swoon in admiration as if they'd just met the Jonas Brothers. This film immerses us in a farcical universe where people act & react strangely, and it's that farcical presentation that makes us realize that perhaps this story is a deeper allegory, a satire about the cult of personality the way the classic "Bonnie & Clyde" (1967) hit us.

Being set in Scotland, a country that prides itself in a history of rebels, rogues and rapscallions, "Restless Natives" is almost believable--that a pair of lovable loser criminals could become mythical heroes overnight--and that's what makes this film extra fun. There is no real malice, no heavy moralizing, no contrived melodrama. It's like a clean, modern fable from start to finish. Scotland style.

And that leads me to the soundtrack as promised. If you're not familiar with the magic of the 80s-90s band "Big Country" then get familiar asap. Famous for their distant bagpipe-sounding guitars and traditional highland folk melodies and rhythms, the music compliments the story as well as the glorious landscapes prominently featured in the film. Big Country fans will instantly recognize Stuart's e-bow guitar melodies (reminiscent of the song "The Storm") as well as the band's distinct 6/8 drum beats, melodic bass parts and percussive guitar rhythms that we heard all over their 1983 debut album "The Crossing". Most of the music here is instrumental, but there is one great song "Restless Natives" near the end where Stuart sings, and the final scenes of stunning landscape are perfectly complimented by the song "Come Back to Me" from BC's 2nd album. Much like Queen's iconic soundtrack to "Flash Gordon" (1980), Big Country's sound is clearly stamped on this film in the same memorable way.

"Restless Natives" was a big hit in Scotland though I never heard a peep about it in the USA. I suppose 1985 was a busy year in American theaters with the likes of "The Breakfast Club", "Weird Science" and my favorite teen comedy "Better Off Dead" (incidentally the star of this film Vincent Friell bears a striking resemblence to John Cusack, including the perpetual deer-in-the-headlights stare). So congratulate yourself for stumbling on this obscure gem. Don't miss it!

Restless Natives is a lovely little curiosity of a film from Scotland. I first discovered the film as a kid and had watched it about 4 times, and had very fond memories of it. On seeing it again recently, I think it is a minor masterpiece of Scottish Comedy. Great idea, fun script, charming acting, good supporting cast, great uplifting music from Big Country and beautiful locations. As a Scotsman, we always get a bit patriotic seeing Scottish locations and hearing Scottish accents in films, and this doesn't disappoint. Forget Braveheart, this is a film that makes me proud to be a Scot. Now, I'm not saying this is by any means a brilliant film... I'm saying that if you like your comedies quirky, silly, fun and with a bit of heart then this is for you. Fantastic acting from Vincent Friell, Joe Mullaney, Bernard Hill, Robert Urquart and Ned Beatty. This film is great, I urge anyone who has seen it years ago to go and get the DVD when it comes out - you won't be disappointed. Favourite moments have to be Vincent's sweeping in the park, the cop in the joke shop, any scene with Ned Beatty and that brilliant chase across Scotland at the end. Yes, there are plenty of weak points in this film too but it makes me smile so much I don't care.

It takes a lot to get around the alarmingly 80's Edinburgh featured in this movie. A lot has changed since then and since the movie is about 2 guys who are bored with their lives, the city scenes are shot in the most drab and depressing way possible. This only accentuates their adventures in the countryside.

Basically Ronnie and Will are on the edge. They hate their lives so much and decide that a little highway robbery in the highlands would be just the fun they are looking for. What begins as a little fun soon leads to them becoming local heroes and, by the end, immortal legends.

With good characters, some funny scenes and a nice feel-good factor towards the end, Restless Natives makes for easily diverting entertainment. It's long, long out of print and ancient VHS ex-rental copies go for £135 at online auction sites. I think a DVD release is rather overdue. I hope it comes in widescreen when it does. I am unsure or the original aspect ratio but the copy I saw was in pan and scan and the lack of wide shot in the countryside scenes felt awkward and disorientating.

The mangled Glaswegian accents did NOT fit the Edinburgh setting though.