Have you ever been to Scotland? Have you wanted to go to Scotland? For the time being, the scenery in Glenrothan, beautiful throughout this film, will have to be some compensation!
The setting is a country home and a distillery, run by a family for 200 years. The present manager is Sandy, the welcome presence of actor Brian Cox (who also directed the film). Cox has portrayed some harsh characters on the big screen and the small screen, Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter, Logan Roy in Succession. But this film gives him an opportunity to be more benign. He is getting old, unwell, and very conscious that his younger brother left Scotland for America 40 years earlier and has never been back. He wants a reconciliation.
The plotline can be considered fairly predictable, going back over the past, harsh experiences, alienation, but a longing for reconciliation. Interestingly, a number of reviewers, expecting a tough Brian Cox have been rather dismissive of the plot, some calling it “cosy” at best. But most audiences watching Glenrothan will have hope for that reconciliation.
The younger brother, Donal, is played by noted Scottish actor, Alan Cumming, who also has the opportunity to sing. There are flashbacks which explain Donal’s leaving, their harsh and demanding father, severe on his son. But in Chicago, Donal has married, has a daughter and granddaughter and runs a blues jazz club where he is happy – but then disaster, it burns down.
With a letter from his brother, Donal finally decides to go back, encountering old acquaintances, meeting Jess (a rather fiery Shirley Henderson) who is now managing the distillery, but she was the girl he left behind.
We know that there are programs for family reconciliations, for going back into the past, retreats call Life’s Healing Journey. And this is what happens here, an acknowledgement of wrongs, on all sides, the surfacing of intense feelings, continued experiences of uncertainty, and the challenges of age, illness, and the inheritance of the distillery.
Alexandra Shipp plays Donal’s daughter and Alexandra Wilkie is striking as his cheerful young granddaughter.
Yes, a familiar plot, an appeal to our deeper emotions and hopes. And, after some dramatic moments, some joy and relaxation as we are immersed in the Scottish landscapes.
Currently showing at Palace Cinemas, Balwyn
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