Director: Dexter Fletcher
Stars: Antonia Thomas, George McKay, Peter Mullen, Freya Mavor, Jane Horrocks, Kevin Guthrie, Sara Vickers
Sunshine on Leith is a musical featuring tunes from The Proclaimers. It begins with Davey (Mckay) and Ally (Guthrie) returning home from serving in Afghanistan. They have to deal with the adjustment and there’s also some drama going on with the family. Davey’s sister Liz (Mavor) is going out with Ally, but she’s thinking about the wider world. Davey’s parents Rab (Mullen) and Jean (Horrocks) are celebrating their silver wedding anniversary but a secret from the past threatens to undo their years of matrimony, and Davey himself is trying to settle into a relationship with Liz’s English colleague and friend Yvonne (Thomas).
Sometimes this film is whimsical, sometimes it’s moving, and sometimes it’s downright cringe-worthy. It is at it’s strongest when in the grip of the songs as when it reverts to spoken dialog it can succumb to soap-opera-ish melodrama. The songs also give it a bit more emotional heft as they’re a short cut to expressing and encapsulating deeper feelings, as the plots do feel a little shallow. I think there was more opportunity to explore the difficulty in the boys returning home but I suppose the director wanted to keep the tone as light as he could.
I liked how it started off light and then everything fell apart, but I wasn’t satisfied with some of the story developments. The plot between Rab and Jean was given an easy out that came from nowhere, and it felt like it was put in there so the characters could stay connected. With Davey and Yvonne there was a bizarre argument towards the end that felt extremely forced just so there was a bit of drama at the end. the basis of the argument made absolutely no sense to me, so these two things makes the film seem a bit disingenuous as it manoeuvres the plot in such a way that it doesn’t feel like it evolves naturally from the actions of the characters. There’s also a little nitpick too; when Ally walks away from his family’s home his nephew taps on the glass and Ally looks back. There’s no way he could have heard the light knocking
But aside from that I did enjoy it. There was some nice choreography and the actors sold the songs well. Leith was shot beautifully too and overall it was paced well. Even though I think some of the story elements could have been explored more they are all articulated well and everyone’s motivations are clear. I also liked how it’s grounded in real people’s lives and doesn’t feel the need to have lots of grand set-pieces. This gives it an intimate feel that really works.
I’m not going to say it’s the best musical out there but it’s entertaining, it has heart and despite some flaws in the story it does care about its characters. I liked it and I am recommending it.
