ROB ROY
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1995 Scott Renshaw
ROB ROY
Starring: Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, John Hurt, Tim Roth,
Eric Stoltz, Brian Cox.
Screenplay: Alan Sharp.
Director: Michael Caton-Jones.
Period adventures have been around as long as the movies. Throughout that time, and especially into modern efforts, such films have rarely navigated successfully between the twin perils of the genre: tedious hero-worship on the one hand, grade-B schlock on the other. Rare is the film that manages to be both exciting and intelligent, both compelling as character-based drama and a good old-fashioned good guys vs. bad guys tale. ROB ROY does manage both, and then some. Though the film's love story doesn't quite click, the main story is wonderfully acted and exhilarating to watch.
Liam Neeson stars as the title character, 18th century Scotsman Robert Roy MacGregor. A caretaker for the lands of the Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt), MacGregor is also the de facto leader of his impoverished clan. Determined to make a better life for himself, his wife Mary (Jessica Lange) and his entire clan, MacGregor borrows 1,000 pounds from Montrose to buy cattle and turn a significant profit. But Montrose's accountant Killearn (Brian Cox) and devious housegest Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth) conspire to steal the money, leaving MacGregor with a massive and unpayable debt. When Montrose offers to erase the debt in exchange for MacGregor tarnishing the reputation of Montrose's rival lord, MacGregor refuses, leading to a war of honor between Englishmen and Scotsmen, and between MacGregor and Cunningham in particular.
The plot of ROB ROY is a fairly dense one, including a healthy dose of post-Restoration English political machinations which might leave many viewers wondering why being accused of being a "Jacobite" would be such a big deal. These instances are rare enough, however, not to be distracting. Perhaps one reason is that in its structure and tone, ROB ROY has the archetypal appeal of a Shakespeare play, with the political elements serving only to set up conflicts, not to define them. The characters' relationships are laid out in classic dramatic terms: Cunningham, a bastard who plays the role of courtier, hates his benefactor Montrose even as he envies his position; MacGregor has a virtue (devotion to the concept of honor) which also becomes the source of his misery. Alan Sharp's screenplay makes sure that even though the characters have mythic dimensions, they do not remain one-dimensional.
That's the academic end. ROB ROY is also just a fine piece of movie-making, beginning with the superb direction of Michael Caton-Jones. His opening shot is the perfect introduction to an epic, a breathtaking view of the highlands into which the characters slowly wander and draw closer. The pacing lags here and there, and the more brutal elements of the story are occasionally excessive, but those are exceptions in an otherwise top-notch job, particularly a pair of magnificently staged duels. Special note should also go to Carter Burwell, who provides a stirring Celtic-themed score.
For my money though, ROB ROY works fundamentally because its villains--all three of them--are fantastic. As fine a job as Liam Neeson does with MacGregor, his character is essentially a legend, a striking figure but fairly static. Tim Roth, on the other hand, is a showy delight as Cunningham, the fop with a serious sadistic streak, and he takes it to the limit. John Hurt's Montrose is a cold-eyed political back-stabber, and expert manipulator of any situation to his benefit. The best of the three might be Brian Cox, best unknown as the "other" Hannibal Lecter in 1986's MANHUNTER. He is frighteningly vile, and the scene in which he turns a threat from Jessica Lange's Mary back on her is one of the film's best.
As for Lange, she may be the weak link. Her acting style has never been one of my favorites, and sometimes her emotions feel forced. ROB ROY tries to build the love story between Rob and Mary into one of the central elements, but the conflict between Rob and the Englishmen is always more interesting. Nevertheless, all the elements combine into an extremely satisfying whole. ROB ROY is not for the squeamish, with its swordplay and a lengthy rape scene, nor is it for those looking strictly for a lusty romp. It is a story about characters as much as it is about battles, and it succeeds as both.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 duels of honor: 8.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
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