Trainspotting

(Danny Boyle, 1996) I was just barely 14 when Trainspotting came out, and it really can’t be overstated how big the movie was, how much it dominated the culture in 1996. I guess I can’t speak for all of Scotland, but in one dreary grey secondary school in the North East, it was everything, all …

On Approval

(Clive Brook, 1944) Well, here’s an absolute treat. Another film I’d never heard of, this seems to be something of a hidden gem, adored and evangelized for by those who’ve seen it but largely unknown by the majority of us. It’s a loose adaptation of a 1926 play of the same name, but thoroughly modernized …

Seagulls Over Sorrento

(John Boulting & Roy Boulting, 1954) Apparently, this was huge in the 50s, but is now largely pretty forgotten. I’d never heard of it before starting this list. It’s based on a 1950 play of the same name that was so successful it delayed the film's release, because it was baked into the contract that …

Macbeth

(Justin Kurzel, 2015) I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about this one. I think, in some ways, my impression of it is tainted by having seen Kurzel, Fassbender, and Cotillard’s follow-up, Assassin's Creed, so that I view every odd decision I don’t like – and every one I do – refracted through that …

Sunset Song

(Terence Davies, 2015) When I first moved to Edinburgh and told people I was from Stonehaven, they would almost always reply, ‘Oh, the incest place?’ Thank you, Lewis Grassic Gibbon. I never actually studied the book in school, though most of my friends’ classes did. All I knew was that it was ‘boring’ and set …

Carla’s Song

(Ken Loach, 1996) I watched this a couple of months ago, and I’ve been struggling to get my thoughts down coherently since. It’s one of those late-20th-century Leftist projects that undoubtedly has its heart in the right place, undoubtedly is trying to get across a good message and throw a light on harsh world realities, …

Falling for Figaro

(Ben Lewin, 2021) Simultaneously much better than I was expecting and disappointing in comparison to its own first half hour, that I liked this at all is almost entirely down to Joanna Lumley, who, always amazing, is absolutely at the top of her game here. Every scene she’s in is a pure joy. Unfortunately, there …

Kidnapped

(Delbert Mann, 1971) It’s hard to think of an actor with a more specific mode of speech than Michael Caine – except perhaps for Scotland’s own Sean Connery. Not just his accent, but his way of speaking, his manner of intonation. He epitomizes South London, and while he’s successfully played Posh many times over the …

Scottish Mussel

(Talulah Riley, 2015) Scottish Mussel is frequently referenced as shorthand for “terrible Scottish movie”, so let’s start off by saying: it’s not that bad, not really. It’s a big rolling mess of ill-conceived ideas, bizarre casting decisions, and failed executions, but I’ve seen a lot worse, and a couple of scenes are almost, sort-of enjoyable. …

The Flesh and the Fiends

(John Gilling, 1960) This is widely held up as the best Burke and Hare film, and it probably is the best straight telling of that story, but I have to say that for a film inspired by the West Port Murders I’d point you to The Body Snatcher, which is unburdened by having to pay …