Loves history, gardens, travel, and words in general. AKA LovesTravel on dooyoo.
Loves history, gardens, travel, and words in general. AKA LovesTravel on dooyoo.
Member since:06.04.2003
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Note: Some plot details are disclosed in this opinion.
Based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott, Rob Roy is the kind of movie that you just almost have to like. With a script that is largely unmarred by shades of moral gray, good is clearly good, evil is clearly evil, marital love and fidelity triumph over all challenges, and justice prevails at the end of the day. It is, in a word, wholesome.
Toss in a healthy dose of standing stones, Highland lochs, and good Scottish scenery in general, and--well, you just about have to like this movie. At least, Himself and I do. We own a VHS copy, and when we crave escape to the Highlands or exposure to political and personal honor (try to find either these days), we pull out Rob Roy for uplifting dose of courage and valor--plus a wee bit or romance.
During its best moments, this film makes the audience feel hopeful about the human condition. During its worst--particularly through several scenes of somewhat gratuitous violence, including rape--it begs the question of whether humanity is really deserving of such hope.
I confess that my own love for things Scottish may have allowed me to overlook Rob Roy's flaws. For example, the history portrayed here won't win an award for accuracy. Given that the film medium has a long tradition of playing artistic license with history, however, this certainly isn't a fatal flaw. More irritating, perhaps, is the fact that most of the plot and much the action are thoroughly predictable. No suspense thriller this: The audience is generally well ahead of the events transpiring on screen.
Nonetheless, the film is a wonderful showcase for the skills of its cast. Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange, as Robert and Mary MacGregor, are believable as the constant husband and wife at the center of the tale being woven. Their love and passion for one another are genuine, mature, and beautiful. Neeson's portrayal of MacGregor (not to mention his sense of honor) is pleasingly balanced: MacGregor is every ounce the reluctant hero. But since hero he must be, he gives the effort his all. In her performance as Mary, Lange presents the audience with a wise and stalwart woman who is at least a match for her heroic husband.
John Hart as MacGregor's noble nemesis, the Marquis of Montrose, could hardly create a more loathsome character. Hart's Montrose uses his power to destroy lives in a totally amoral manner. Right and wrong are never issues that trouble his thought. He is only concerned with that which improves his overall advantage versus that which does not. Unlike his counterpart, the Duke of Argyll played by Andrew Keir, Montrose embraces the prerogatives of the nobility without being inconvenienced by the obligations.
Tim Roth, portraying the despicable Archibald Cunningham, is the antihero to Neeson's hero. Roth's character actively delights in his role as villain--the defiling of fair maids, theft, murder, and intense narcissism represent but a fraction of his arsenal of evil. Dandified and self-consciously effeminate, Cunningham becomes Montrose's chief tool in all things scurrilous--particularly as they involve Robert MacGregor.
Rob Roy shouldn't be anyone's pick as the greatest movie of the 20th century--or even of the 1990s. It is, however, a well-crafted and entertaining film for adults. Don't show this film to yound children. Sex and violence are too much a part of the package--sometimes unnecessarily so.
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
I was lucky enough to see this at a preview screening a few weeks before it was released, and really enjoyed it. There was something for everyone in this movie. Another great review too !!
zerbine28 25.06.2005 15:49
I've yet to see it, and your excellent review tells me that I think I'll like it, so thanks for another addition to the Netflix queue!
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lavish, brilliantly directed film drew critical and audience raves when it was released in 1995. Inspired by historical fact and larger-than-life legend, the intellig...
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lavish, brilliantly directed film drew critical and audience raves when it was released in 1995. Inspired by historical fact and larger-than-life legend, the intellig...
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A passionate and thrilling tale Rob Roy tells the true story of 18th century Scottish ... more
hero Robert Roy McGregor (Liam Neeson). Against a backdrop of stunning beauty and the bitter reality of clan life Rob Roy and his wife Mary (Jessica Lange) a re ca...
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A passionate and thrilling tale, Rob Roy tells the true story of 18th century Scottish ... more
hero Robert Roy McGregor (Liam Neeson - 'Schindler's List'). Against a backdrop of stunning beauty and the bitter reality of clan life, Rob Roy and his wife Mary (Je...
![Rob Roy [DVD] [1995]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78550483.jpg "Rob Roy [DVD] [1995]")
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