Brian Cox makes this movie. For a mainland actor he did really well with the Gaelic, but any Scot, Gaelic speaking or no, would have corrected the Americans pronouncing it wrong. It might seem a small thing given the glaring impracticality of leaving the Hebrides for an expensive medical checkup in America when the plane from Barra goes straight to Glasgow, but if you can ignore that, the film is funny with a few wee irritations that lower the rating slightly.
Given that he was asked to speak for the purpose of preserving a specific dialect within Scots Gaidhlig, I feel for realism he'd have pointed out the "gaelic" they mention would have meant to us the Irish native language. It was a comedy moment, to make light of the persistent mispronunciation, but it was an opportunity to use the medium of film to truly preserve a piece of dying culture.
The wife did a fantastic job of being intolerable, but even she could be empathised with, a product of her own upbring. Nothing new about the basic premis of the story, but one done fairly well.
There were poignant moments that I personally found really touching; the moment where he looks out on the lights of the city and sees the reflection of his Atlantic waves, while a bit cliché, nearly had us all greetin (me and my own grumpy old hebridean parents) even though we could look out our own window and see it for real. It does highlight the disconnect between the city and cultural home, between trying to prove yourself and being yourself.
Aye it was alright, probably rating it higher than it deserves for all its flaws but worth a watch, especially for the wee bits of the Hebrides at the beginning and end.
Given that he was asked to speak for the purpose of preserving a specific dialect within Scots Gaidhlig, I feel for realism he'd have pointed out the "gaelic" they mention would have meant to us the Irish native language. It was a comedy moment, to make light of the persistent mispronunciation, but it was an opportunity to use the medium of film to truly preserve a piece of dying culture.
The wife did a fantastic job of being intolerable, but even she could be empathised with, a product of her own upbring. Nothing new about the basic premis of the story, but one done fairly well.
There were poignant moments that I personally found really touching; the moment where he looks out on the lights of the city and sees the reflection of his Atlantic waves, while a bit cliché, nearly had us all greetin (me and my own grumpy old hebridean parents) even though we could look out our own window and see it for real. It does highlight the disconnect between the city and cultural home, between trying to prove yourself and being yourself.
Aye it was alright, probably rating it higher than it deserves for all its flaws but worth a watch, especially for the wee bits of the Hebrides at the beginning and end.