Restless Natives

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!!

I was 12 years old when this came out, I'm Scottish, I'm male and I used to love Big Country. So guess what, I really like this film! It is however not the classic I remembered it to be. After years of searching I finally got this on DVD and I can now see as a grown adult that it does have some faults. The whole armed robbery aspect is a bit dodgy now and the ending is pretty poor too. All the rest is great though, the music is fantastic and the Scottish scenery is of course beautiful. The performances are great and I wonder why the cast never went onto bigger and better things? Instead of parts in dodgy Scottish soap Take the High Road! Ned Beatty is however a big name and its great an actor of his stature would appear in a low budget Scottish film. Good on you Ned! I'm delighted this film has at last appeared on DVD and its not bad but some more extras would have been the icing on the cake. Highly Recommended.

In 1985 two American directors came to Scotland to make a movie and jump on the Bill Forsyth bandwagon.

Cary Parker made The Girl in the Picture. Michael Hoffman made Restless Natives.

To be fair you would be hard pushed to think that both movies were made by Americans. However they did fail to capture the fabled Scottish whimsy which Forsyth could do effortlessly.

Restless Natives is about two friends living in Edinburgh and their lives is going nowhere.

Ronnie (Joe Mullaney) works in a joke shop. Will (Vincent Friell) worked as a street cleaner but was soon fired.

They decide to become modern highwaymen by robbing tour busses usually full of American tourists that traipse around the highlands. To hide their identity Ronnie wears a clown mask and Will wears a wolf mask.

Pretty soon both become local heroes courtesy of throwing some of their money away to people in need.

The police and one CIA agent (Ned Beatty) do not see the funny side of these robberies.

The movie was regarded as quirky and charming at the time of its release. Now it looks like a hotchpot screenplay. It is hard to root for two teenagers robbing older holidaymakers with guns.

It was a surprise that their identities remained undiscovered given that all the kids in the neighbourhood knew who they were as well as so many others.

Even the love interest between Will and a young Scot tour guide was a bit of a stretch.

You really have to take the movie as a flight of fancy and fantasy.

The best thing about the movie was the music from Big Country. Back in the day they were regarded as equals with U2 with their rousing Celtic guitar sound.

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.

I saw this film years ago, taped it from TV and watched it over and over. I wait patiently for some distributer to produce 'Restless Natives' on DVD so that it can, once more, be a part of my collection.

Onto the film: it is rare that you see a Scottish film that is entertaining, doesn't have actors forcing their accents and actually makes you think "being Scottish isn't so bad" - this film actually fits the bill.

It takes the old "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid" formula, transplants it into Scotland, and provides non stop entertainment - you may even be inspired to wear a clown mask and rob tourist buses whilst becoming Scotlands greatest tourist attraction too; it can be that inspiring.

Other reviews state that this film has a weak ending, however I feel that there was nowhere else for the film to go; this statement in itself doesn't make too much sense until you have seen the film though.

All in all, an enjoyable film that will bring a smile to most faces and perhaps even relight the fire of Scottish patriotism. You may even enjoy the "Big Country" soundtrack.