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In 1745 Scotland, the Jacobite Rebellion led by the French born Bonnie Prince Charlie is defeated. The King's soldiers rampage across the country. David Balfour claims his inheritance from his uncle who promptly has him kidnapped and forced to work on a ship. That ship crashes into a small boat sinking it. The boat had one occupant, Jacobite rebel Alan Breck (Michael Caine), who is waiting for a ship to France. The money grubbing crew intends to take him prisoner but Breck would have non of it. He fights them off with the help of imprisoned Balfour.
I'm with this meandering story until Edinburgh. It seems to be going nowhere other than confronting the uncle. I would have liked the unpoetic ending for a committed warrior dying from a non-war fight. Instead, the Edinburgh section infuriated me with Balfour turning ever more clueless and naive. I understand him being a honorable boy scout but he is actually turning dumber. He's seen the atrocities. He's known the underhand dealings. It cannot be a surprise. He has way too much faith in the system. I'd rather he sees this as a suicide mission for a honorable soldier. The trouble is that he actually thinks that the right outcome will happen. He's shocked that somebody would try to kill him even though he's seen lots of killings. I would redo the whole third act.
score 4/10
SnoopyStyle 1 September 2019
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw5093522/ |
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18-3-2021 00:07:16