Director Gaby Dellal's 'On A Clear Day' is a straightforward and simple tale of a man's struggle to find himself and ultimately his own redemption. Big hearted and quite amusing in parts, it's very much in the mould of 'The Full Monty' and 'The Calendar Girls' , and has enough in its performers to make you focus at the very 'heart' of the movie rather than its all too basic plotline, written by first timer Alex Rose.
With the launch of their latest ship, a Clyde Yard has to lay off members of their staff in a redundancy situation. The launch of the new signals the end for many, and one such man is Frank (Peter Mullan), a 26 year employee of the Yard and a Plater’s gaffer. He has followed the traditional route that many have before him on the Glasgow shores, this is all he knows, this is his life, but no more.
He is lost, unable to voice or face the changes to his life, he tries to go on what was his daily routine which leads to a wake up call that jars him back to reality. With his old working colleagues he finds that the swimming pool is the destresser that he needs and then a challenge forms out of the depths. What would it take to swim the English Channel ?
But what will his wife Joan (Brenda Blethyn) think of his plan at this time of newfound hardship ? He decides to keep it a secret for the present, not knowing that his wife is keeping a secret too in learning how to drive a bus, seeking employment since the sad news of her husband’s dismissal. There are more problems lurking on a family level, with the death of one son still haunting him after all these years and the frustration and strain with his remaining son, Rob (Jamie Sives) who is now himself a father, to which he holds at an uncomfortable distance.
His friends, including cheeky chappy Danny played by the scene stealing Billy Boyd in top humorous form as the movies comic relief, first hinder him with his newfound task as they think he is at a crisis point. He is, but this task is giving him an aim at an achievement in a world that is no longer his own. He feels he has been passed by and when he sees the determination of the handicapped children in the pool one day, it simplifies things immensely for him, there is more to life and after every turn we should strive to go on. Through the motions of training for the events to come, with various pints of lager and Guinness to be had, each one of his friends go through change too in some shape or form. This is such a joy and a breath of fresh air in this era of cinematic nihilism.
On a technical level, the photography is more than eye catching, using a variety of techniques to influence the story action, DoP David Johnson ('AVP' 'Resident Evil' ) does a fantastic looking job, but ultimately it might seem a little too overdone for this type of down to earth movie. Kudos too, goes out for the wonderful score by ‘Two Brothers’ ‘Billy Elliot’ ‘Only an Excuse’ ) playing bondage weirdo Merv the Perv, who loans his boat (suitably named The Belle End – enough said) for the swimming practice.
This was shown as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival and opens today on a UK general release.'On a Clear Day'
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