Local Hero
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Mr Happer (Burt Lancaster) snores through a board meeting at Knox Oil & Gas. Plans to build an off shore oil refinery in Scotland are discussed in hushed tones so as not to disturb him. An employee called Mac chosen for his Scottish name is subsequently sent to Scotland to buy up a remote village and its coastline. The film challenges our perceptions of those who live in small rural communities. The canny villagers in the fictional village of Ferness are all looking forward to becoming millionaires. They play a crafty game of cat and mouse with the American, but who is the cat and who is the mouse? You may also ask who exactly is the ‘local hero’? Is it the wily Ben who makes a living working the beach? Is it Marina the enigmatic marine biologist who, when told of the plans for the refinery says simply ‘No, I don’t see that happening here’ Is it Mr Urquhart who runs the hotel with his wife and doubles up as the village accoun...