"Down the glens, Where the headlands stand, I feel a healing, Through this land" (Runrig)
"Down the glens, Where the headlands stand, I feel a healing, Through this land" (Runrig)
Member since:01.07.2009
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It is a wonderful thing to be Scottish. But it hasn't always been. Going back centuries, we have been conquered, invaded, and oppressed. As recently as the 1950s, Scotland was referred to by England as North Britain. There was a fledgling movement wanting a parliament for Scotland, to give us our freedom and pride back, but a lot of Scots were made to feel like second class citizens and the Scottish National Party was still developing its ideology. Then along came a group of Glasgow University students who decided it was time to stop talking and start doing. So they did the obvious thing, and reclaimed the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey and brought it home to Scotland.
A little bit of history to give you some context if you don't know: the Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny, is the ancient coronation stone of the kings of Scotland, traced as far back as the year 847. There are legends that prior to that it was used by the Dalriada kings. In 1296 the Stone was stolen from its home in Scone Abbey by Edward I (Edward Longshanks) and brought south to England. Since that it has been used for the coronations of English monarchs, and, since the Union of the Crowns, British monarchs.
Throughout the last 700 years there have been stories of copies. Some claimed that the stone Edward stole was not the Stone of Scone, but a fake. Following the students reclamation of the Stone in 1950, there have been numerous claims that it was a fake that was returned, and the Stone which sat in Westminster Abbey (and now in Edinburgh Castle) was not the real one, which remained hidden in
Scotland.
Stone of Destiny (2008) tells the true story of this adventure. It is based on the autobiographical account by Ian Hamilton, the leader of the group, of their successful break in to the Abbey and the return to Scotland. This is a story that I, and I assume most Scots, have grown up knowing and loving, the day when someone finally did something and woke up the nation. And it really did wake up the nation - although it took another 45 years for the Stone to be formally returned to Scotland.
The film is very well acted and written, and the story runs almost exactly as the true story does, with little cinematic embellishment. It's a simple film, there is no Hollywood flair here - but then, it is a story of post war Britain, hardly a bright and cheery place. Two of my favourite Scottish actors feature in it - Robert Carlyle and Billy Boyd, and both are excellent. Carlyle has been continually excellent throughout his career, so I knew I was in for some good acting with him in the film. He plays the legendary John MacCormick, a frontrunner in the pursuit of devolution who brought a legal challenge against the Queen, along with Hamilton, over her title (great story, look it up). Carlyle brings a gravitas to the cast with his portrayal of MacCormick, and gives the group of students someone to look up to and keep them grounded. Carlyle has of course acted in a story about the Stone of Destiny before - check out the final episodes of Hamish MacBeth - so he was on familiar ground here!
The remainder of the cast is also very convincing, and even the Scottish accents of the non-Scots rarely slip! Kate Mara as Kay Matheson, the only girl in the group, is very good but her accent wavers now and then - its sticks with Scottish most of the time, but she has a few different regional inflections! Charlie Cox, who plays Hamilton, does a good job of portraying the intensity of his feelings for Scotland and his desire to take back the Stone. Hamilton's single-minded determination come across very well. The other two members of the group, Gavin Stuart and Alan Vernon, are played by Stephen McCole and Ciaron Kelly, both Scots. They had a brotherly relationship, and McCole and Kelly play this very well. I was amazed to learn when I watched the making-of feature on the DVD that this was Kelly's first film.
The music used in the film is absolutely right for the time and place setting. It is undoubtedly Scottish, ad predominantly traditional, but sometimes with a more modern twist than there would have been in the 1950s, so as to draw in viewers today.
On the whole, the locations look very much like 1950s Glasgow and London. There were some things I picked up that I may be completely wrong about - for example, the road markings on Westminster Bridge. They probably couldn't do anything about that, but I very much doubt it was marked the same in 1950 as it is today!
It was a low budget film, and in fact was part funded by grants, so despite a few minor quibbles which really don't matter I think it does exceptionally well on locations, sets, costumes etc. And to be honest, it doesn't need a large budget - it was mostly shot on location, including some in Westminster Abbey, which is almost unheard of. There is absolutely no need for effects. What could you add that isn't there already? Not much that I can think of.
When this was released, some newspapers denounced it as anti English, and nationalist sentimentality. Personally, I think that is nonsense. It is true to fact. It is historical. And it is absolutely not anti-English. The Scottish nationalist view has never been anti-English, and in fact Robert Carlyle states this in the making-of on the DVD - "It's not anti-English. It's pro-Scottish". That was what taking the Stone was about for those students, and that is what Scottish nationalism still stands for today. So please, don't avoid this because you think it will be all about hating the English - it absolutely is not. And certainly less so than Braveheart which was a huge success worldwide! Interestingly, also in the making-of feature, Charlie Cox, an Englishman, claims that after seeing Braveheart he wanted to be Scottish so that he could feel that passion!
I absolutely loved this film. Even though I knew the story, I still found myself on the edge of my seat worrying about them getting caught or failing. There was some gentle humour in it, and plenty of things never going quite according to plan. It made me feel proud to be Scottish, and proud that Hamilton and his friends stood up and did something.
As for the making-of, it is called The Taking and Making of the Stone of Destiny. It features little bits of "chat" from all the actors and the director, a Canadian named Charles Martin Smith. Rather fascinatingly, it also features the real Ian Hamilton, who was involved with the film. I was slightly disappointed with the making-of feature, as I felt they could have told a little more of the history and also maybe spoken to Hamilton about the eventual legitimate return of the Stone to Edinburgh in 1996. I thought that was an opportunity lost. I did however enjoy Robert Carlyle's segments, he is a favourite of mine and what he says about Scottish nationalism is spot on. The information about the making of the film is interesting, but with a name indicating not just information about the making of the film but the actual taking of the Stone, I expected more.
This really is a great film, and one that I think you should all make an effort to see! It's educational, fun and moving all in one, and tells an important part of Scottish, and British, history - the taking of the Stone was one of the early steps on the long road to devolution.
This review was originally published by me under the same username on Dooyoo.co.uk.
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Jul 15th, 2009
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