This Movie is Rated PG-13 – For Some Language

 Frank (Peter Mullan) has been working at the shipyard for thirty some years and now his job has been made redundant (or in U.S. terms, laid off). Faced with the prospect of looking for a new job, he starts having panic attacks. His way of coping is to go to the local pool and swim laps. He then decides that he should swim the English Channel.

Four of his friends (Eddie, Chan, Norman and Danny) decide that they will help him train and also provide moral support for his venture. Frank wants to be ready for the swim within six months. So the five of them start spending a lot of time together putting together a plan for how that can be accomplished. Oh, and Frank also wants to keep it a secret, he doesn’t want his family to know.

As it turns out, Frank’s wife, Joan (Brenda Blethyn) also has a secret. She has decided she wants to get her bus-driving license. So she is taking classes without Frank knowing about it. When it comes time to take the actual driving test, she is finding it to be a bit of a challenge.

There is a lot of inter-cutting between training for the swim scenes and interpersonal interaction scenes. We find that Frank’s relationship with his son, Rob (Jamie Sives) is strained. They just can’t seem to find a way to relate to each other. Frank seems to keep himself emotionally removed from Rob, his wife and their twin boys.

The further Frank gets into his training, the more he becomes an inspiration for his friends. They each start making some changes in their lives as well. Finally getting the courage to do things they were afraid to before.

This is just a lovely heartwarming movie. It really shows the human spirit and how it is worth it to pursue your dreams in life. It’s fun to watch the journey the various characters make throughout the movie. Peter Mullan is fantastic. His character may be a man of few words, but his portrayal makes him interesting. You can feel everything he is struggling with and really relate to him.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Danny – “Won’t be the same at work without Frank.”

Eddie – “You got the boot as well, you dozy pillock.”

Frank – “How mad would you have to be to swim this?”

Eddie – “Totally.”

Danny – “I was a deck chair man for a day.”

Norman – “Only a day?”

Danny – “Wasn’t what I was expecting.”

Frank – “There’s not a man in this yard would piss on you if you were on fire.”

Frank – “You think I’m wasting my time?”

Chan – “A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.”

Frank – “Is that a yes or a no?”

Joan – “How did they both manage to fall over.”

Rob – “Practice.”

Norman – “I’m more your dry kind of supporter.”

Jan

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Following is additional information about the movie that contains spoilers. If you don’t want to be spoiled don’t read any further.

Frank and his son Rob’s relationship is so painful to watch. They both feel bad that they have drifted apart from each other, but they don’t know how to fix it. As the movie progresses they both finally understand what happened between them. I love the ending when Frank decides it’s more important to hug Rob than to touch land to complete his swim. That action meant more to his son than anything he could have said to him.

I was also happy for Joan when she finally passed her bus-driving test (on the third try). She stuck with it and didn’t give up, yeah for her.

Tags: brenda blethyn, dvd, jamie sives, movie, peter mullan, review, scottish

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 12:01 AM and is filed under Movie Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.