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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
STONE OF DESTINY: As capers go, this one's a wee bit lame
Cox makes the grab in The Stone of Destiny. (ALLIANCE FILMS)
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IF you want to take a positive view of this mild heist movie, you can say it doesn't resort to the heavy-handed sturm und drang of Braveheart, another film about a bid to boost Scottish nationalism.
Actually, Stone of Destiny is pretty much the opposite of that. Set in the year 1950, it doesn't show a single kilt or spear in telling the true story of an oddball act of (non-violent) defiance.
Stirred up by the compelling rhetoric of Glasgow University rector John MacCormick (Robert Carlyle), student Ian Hamilton (Charlie Cox) is dressed up with nationalist fervour, but he has no place to go -- until he hits on the idea of stealing an important symbol of Scotland's nationhood.
The Stone of Scone had been used to enthrone Scottish kings before it was stolen by Edward I and taken to Westminster Abbey, where it would be subsequently used to enshrine English monarchs.
In the face of increasing resignation among Scots to an eternity of British rule, Ian hits on the idea of taking it back, and he enlists a trio of willing fellow students in the process, including his designated love interest Kay (Kate Mara). The stout, popular Gavin (Stephen McCole) wants to prove he has worth beyond mere popularity, while the shy engineering student Alan (Ciaron Kelly) seems to be participating in a bid to make friends.
Adapted by Vancouver-based director Charlie Martin Smith from Hamilton's memoir The Taking of the Stone of Destiny, the film has a certain benign blandness about it that vibes more Canadian than Scottish. (It's a Canada-U.K. co-production.)
The heist itself is a low-tech affair, which pits the quartet against a single night watchman, and even he appears to be a nice guy.
You could imagine how Scottish director Bill Forsythe (Local Hero) might have staged this stunt. He certainly could have milked it for its sheer eccentricity, whereas Smith plods along with a play-by-play of the plot and the minor and miscellaneous misfortunes that befell our heroes.
Even powerhouse Scottish actors, including Carlyle and Peter Mullan as Ian's father, seem to fade into the tartan wallpaper.
Between the efforts of Charlie Cox and Charlie Smith, the movie elicits a touch of charm here and there.
But where it should pack the kick of Scotch whisky, the film more resembles a flavourless glob of Scotch porridge.
Stone of Destiny
Starring Charlie Cox and Kate Mara
Grant Park.
PG
2-1/2 stars out of five
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 20, 2009 D3
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