At first glance, Scottish director Bill Forsyth's 1983 film, Local Hero, could be considered a standard film about the tension between preservation of nature and industrial progress. Moreover, it could also be categorized as simpler folk versus the fragmented city folk. From here, one would expect where things could head in the narrative and pick out what will happen to the characters based on their stereotypical personalities. This film has none of that. In fact, this film is far from a conventional Hollywood film that one has seen often. This is a story about how we perceive both humans and nature and how we unite them in our moment of reverie. Not only that, and I'm safely assuming you haven't seen many Scottish films, this film is a window into the rich culture of Scotland, not just their vibrant language, but their mannerisms and temperament.
A swiftly rising young exec, Mac (played by Perter Reigart, who many of you may have seen in Animal House), is given the task to close a deal for the oil company that he works for that would buy up an ample portion of coastline in Scotland; he must travel to the place and negotiate the deal. The oil company is run by the eccentric Felix Happer, who is played by Burt Lancaster with such subtle goofiness. Even though Happer owns an oil company, he finds the stars far more interesting and tells Mac, when he goes to Scotland, to update him whenever he can on a comet that he is searching for. The small Scottish town Mac visits is nestled comfortably between the soft, green mountains and the pale brown beaches. The buildings are all mostly white and small, yet their interiors seem cozy and intimate. The locals here are just as interesting, who live a life of multiple jobs and discussion at the local pub. Mac negotiates with the town's innkeeper/bartender/accountant/mayor Gordon Urquhart, who idealizes places he sees better than this and also really loves his wife. Him and the rest of the residents, upon hearing the news of Mac's reason to visit, smell the money that could be available if the deal goes down. So here is an element within this narrative that doesn't necessarily follow conventionality. Most of the simpler folk want to get out of this simple, yet hard life on the coast and start a new life. They are not idealized for the purpose of thematic function; they are humanized.
Forsyth gently advances the story between moments of sublime presentation, giving us nothing that tries to take a hold of us. Instead, we as the viewer absorb it. And it is not so much that Forsyth advances the story with only crucial plot devices. Rather, just like Mac, who must stay a little longer in the town because negotiations are taking longer than expected, the narrative is propelled by the subtle immersion we have with the area; the combination of the mysterious and colorful skies, the comforting sea receding off the cushioned sand, and the simplicity of the people regarding their worries, joys, and conflicts. The comedy of this film is treated in much the same way. There is a unique and strange sense of intimate absurdity within the world Mac ventures into. The scene of the party embellishes such a trait, where there are many shots of the locals just being themselves, yet sometimes to great comedic effect. There is a charming scene where to old men play a game where one makes a face and the other tries to guess which famous Hollywood actor he is. There is another scene where Mac talks with a group of men outside near the docks. Among them is a baby in stroller. Mac asks whose baby it is; all he gets are blank stares. These moments never seem forced but reverberate the serenity of the moment, of what Mac himself begins to feel as he spends more time there.
The conflict really arises when negotiations halt since one of the land owners, Ben, does not agree to sell his large plot of coastline; his family has owned it for over four hundred years. Ben is a philosophically driven man who appreciates what he has and also has a knack for the skies just like Happer. The culmination of thoughts and opinions of the characters results in an unconventional ending that some would question, but I applaud. Let's just say that the pacing is much quicker, but for good reason. Moreover, its ending, or at least the motivation for the ending, is ambiguous enough to entice the viewer into thinking. All this culminates into a story about humanity and nature, but not in a way where it just gives us opposite poles of perception. No, it tells us more about how we change our perception on humanity and nature, where we see our individual importance among a larger construct. The film is deeply self-reflexive in that both the protagonist of the film and the viewer experience this feeling; it is a truthful feeling. The ending only solidifies our feelings with the world we observed for only a moment in our lives. And, again, it is not just nature we care about but humanity, too. Consequently, Local Hero is one of the finest comedies I have ever seen. Through an act that runs perpendicular to provocation, Bill Forsyth creates a story that allows us the draw it into ourselves, letting us witness what we may take for granted in our lives. And, boy, have I thought more about the people I interact with because of this original film.
By the way, there is an asteroid that was coined the name 7345 Happer in honor of Burt Lancaster's character in the film.
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