OBSERVER: Love letter to Scotland
Glenrothan is one of those films that inspires the comment ‘what’s not to like?’
Set and filmed in rural Scotland, it’s the story of prodigal son Donal, who fled the ancestral distillery business 35 years ago for the bright lights and his music club in Chicago, and is finally persuaded to return to reconnect and clear the air with Sandy, the brother who stayed.
The relationship between Donal (Alan Cumming) and Sandy (Brian Cox) is frosty, to say the least, but they are connected by Alan’s daughter Amy (Alexandra Schipp) who has been returning each year with her young daughter and both of them love Scotland and their Uncle Sandy.
Slowly, the past issues that drove the brothers apart start to surface, and it takes the course of the film to work through those and for the brothers to truly reconnect.
Also in the mix is the loyal head distiller Jess (Shirley Henderson), who plays a pivotal part in bringing Donal and Sandy together, and in ensuring a bright further for the distillery, as well as allowing Donal to discover where his heart lies
It’s delightful that all three lead actors are Scottish, so we can hear them in their natural accents.
Directed by Brian Cox, the film has been described as a love letter to Scotland, and that is an apt description.
One of the bonuses is hearing versatile actor and Broadway star Cumming sing and play several times in the film.
The superb cinematography may have you booking a flight to the country of heather and whisky very soon.
But if you can’t do that, seeing Glenrothan will give you a vicarious holiday in Scotland with a gentle but moving story of two brothers slowly rediscovering their kinship.
Julie Houghton
Pictured: Alan Cumming and Brian Cox