A US oil company intends building a large oil refinery in Scotland. To do so it will need to buy an entire town. The company sends a young, aggressive executive to Scotland to negotiate with the locals. Things go smoothly until the owner of a particular piece of land, vital to the plan, refuses to sell.
Quaint, quirky comedy. Some very funny moments and just about every scene is imbued with a sweet warmth and charm. Throw in some off-the-wall sub-plots and scenes, the psycho-analyst who is following Mr Happer around is the pick, and it is a great comedy.
However, the movie also some pretentions to being a drama and as a drama it is less good. It starts off very badly in this respect, with the anti-capitalist rhetoric being laid on a bit thick and a semi-absurd central plot. If the tone had continued like throughout the movie it would have quite irritating. Thankfully the stereotypes and one-dimensional characterisations diminish the further the movie goes on, though there are some predictable and trite plot developments along the way.
Not a very profound or powerful ending either. It just, basically, ends.
Is difficult to dislike though, due to the warmth of the delivery, and, as mentioned, worth watching as a comedy. In addition, the soundtrack, written by Mark Knopfler, is superb. Dire Straits often closed out their concerts with 'Going Home', the theme from Local Hero.
Quaint, quirky comedy. Some very funny moments and just about every scene is imbued with a sweet warmth and charm. Throw in some off-the-wall sub-plots and scenes, the psycho-analyst who is following Mr Happer around is the pick, and it is a great comedy.
However, the movie also some pretentions to being a drama and as a drama it is less good. It starts off very badly in this respect, with the anti-capitalist rhetoric being laid on a bit thick and a semi-absurd central plot. If the tone had continued like throughout the movie it would have quite irritating. Thankfully the stereotypes and one-dimensional characterisations diminish the further the movie goes on, though there are some predictable and trite plot developments along the way.
Not a very profound or powerful ending either. It just, basically, ends.
Is difficult to dislike though, due to the warmth of the delivery, and, as mentioned, worth watching as a comedy. In addition, the soundtrack, written by Mark Knopfler, is superb. Dire Straits often closed out their concerts with 'Going Home', the theme from Local Hero.