Local Hero

Local Hero (Bill Forsyth, 1983) The head of Knox Oil and Gas Company, Felix Happer (Burt Lancaster) decides that the site for the new Knox oil refinery must be in the Scottish town of Ferness, and so he sends "Mac" MacIntyre (Peter Riegert)—because his name sounds Scottish ("they're your people" even though his family is Hungarian)—to impress on the locals the need to sell the town to Knox Oil, which already has a team in Aberdeen doing research on what it'll take to get the facility up and running.

What it will take is the entire town of Ferness to approve of the venture. But, will they go for it? MacIntyre would rather do the whole operation at Knox Oil in Houston ("I'm more of a telex man"), but Happer insists "Mac" travel to Ferness and scout the location for himself and to "watch the sky" for anything interesting as (as he tells him) "The constellation of Virgo is very prominent in the sky right now, in Scotland. I want you to keep an eye on Virgo for me. Will you do that?" Happer happens to be an amateur, but very enthusiastic, astronomer.

So, Mac flies to Scotland, specifically Aberdeen where Knox has a research facility and hooks up with a rep, Danny Oldsen (Peter Capaldi in his first movie) and discuss the refinery plans before heading to Ferness, where he plans to woo the locals. Everything's a little bit primitive in that "living-off-the-land" kind of way and Mac makes the rounds of the residents, who, once they find out there's American money involved, are all-too-eager to hear what the pay-out will be. While negotiations are going on, Mac becomes less the "go-getter" and adjusts to "island-time" and the quirky life-styles of the locals. At night, he goes to the town's one phone-booth to keep Happer apprised of the situation. "Watch the skies," he keeps exhorting.

His one hitch of the locals is old-timer Ben Knox (Fulton Mackay) who lives in a shack on the beach, but he owns the land and has no intention of selling, no matter the price, a human sea-wall to the development. Although the Fernessians might be "quirky" it's a mercenary kind of quirky and Knox's recalcitrance takes a bit of "twee" out of their quaintness. And a row looks to be a-brewing in the small town.

In the meantime, people get known and Mac becomes more and more like an islander. His closest contact is Gordon Urquhart (Denis Lawson), the innkeeper and town accountant, whose way of doing business is singular, as well as one of his clients, the captain of a Russian fishing boat, who regularly stops in Ferness to check his stock portfolio. Danny becomes infatuated with a dedicated marine biologist, Marina (Jenny Seagrove), who is convinced that Happer's company is going to be building a marine research facility and who has the distinction of being so dedicated that she has webbed feet.

 

Meanwhile, Mac keeps watching the skies and starts to become fascinated with the meteor showers and the northern lights, phenomenon that he breathlessly relates to Happer on his phone calls, prompting the boss to come see things for himself.

The film has all the charm of a fish-out-of-water story—director Bill Forsyth both wrote and directed—while maintaining sympathy for its hapless lead character falling under the island's spell while also making the case that small-town life has its advantages, despite (and maybe even because of) its remoteness. Forsyth was adept at bringing out character details that charmed even if they could also risk an audience's sympathies, and Local Hero manages to walk the tightrope of dry humor and odd-duckness.

If it had been made three or four decades before, one would swear it was a product of The Archers, and, in fact, it bears a lot of tonal resemblance to I Know Where I'm Going! without leaning so much into Scottish culture. But, it has a way of making you yearn for community and towny closeness. And it's beautiful as all get-out.

In the next few weeks, I'm going to be doing more reviews of Forsyth's work, as in my obsessive movie days, he was always a particular favorite of mine to watch.