You Have Been Watching (Glasgow Film Festival Special)...You Instead

Movies and music can make for uncomfortable bedfellows when that relationship moves beyond soundtrack duties. For every This is Spinal Tap, Hedwig and the Angry Inch or La Bamba (hugely underrated) there's a Hearts of Fire, a Breaking Glass, a Rock Star and a Fear of a Black Hat. David Mackenzie's You Instead, which premièred at the Glasgow Film Festival, is not quite up there with the former, but I think has enough energy and charm to keep it out of the latter list. I think. I admit I'm still making up my mind.

The reason for this indecision is that I enjoyed the film despite being aware that it has many flaws. Some of these are completely understandable, and therefore forgiveable. The film was shot in the four days of last year's T in the Park, so some of the more unbelievable plot-lines can perhaps be forgiven. If someone had been able to help the lead characters, as they surely could, there would be no film. You have to decide to go with such matters, or you're really not going to like You Instead.

Director Mackenzie thought it vital that he cast musicians in the lead roles, something that too many films ignore (I'm looking at you Rupert Everett). If your making a film about music then those involved should be able to act and play music. It just seems obvious and it works in both directions (I'm thinking about you Bob Dylan). One of the best scenes in You Instead is when the fictional band The Dirty Pink are playing and their song turns into a cover of Tainted Love. It feels like a real band playing to a real audience, and if that hadn't of worked the film would have failed.

True to the director's word the two leads have the necessary musical chops. Natalia Tena, who plays Morello, is the lead singer in Molotov Jukebox, while Luke Treadway, who is Adam, was in the cult movie Brothers of the Head which is about Siamese Twins who 'lead' the band after which the film is named. They are both strong and likeable screen presences, and their casting is one of the unarguable positives of the film. It is not a spoiler to say that they are handcuffed together for the vast majority of their time on screen (it's in the picture at the head of this post), and while this plot device creaks heavily, it just about works due to their chemistry. Here they both are in those earlier guises as proof they can play:

The supporting cast are given little to do. Adam's fellow band member is charmingly played by Mathew Baynton, and the rest of Morello's band The Dirty Pink are good when asked to be, which is not often. The comic turn is supplied by Gavin Mitchell, best known as Craiglang's own Boabby the Barman who is surprisingly believable as Bobby the American manager of Adam's band The Make, before he is reduced to pratfalls and acting pished as the film draws to a close. Ruta Gedmintas, recently seen as Frankie in Lip Service, who plays Adam's jilted other half, is offered thin gruel. The speed with which she deals with their bizarre situation, and the relationship between Adam and Morello, is one of the casualties of the film's 90 minute running time. 

It appears to me that You Instead is aiming for a similar romantic feel to Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise, which I love unapologetically. This is a fine ambition and in places it comes close. However it can't pull off the more gentle scenes of that film, which are necessary for the audience to fall in love with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, and the film. In Before Sunrise 'Celine' and 'Jesse' can take things at their own pace as they move through Vienna. But at a festival everything moves at a hundred miles an hour, and you are never on your own, even when you think you are. Oddly enough the pace of the film is both a plus and a minus. It means that there is a rushed feeling to the development of the central relationship, but it also means that those moments that push believability are soon gone and can be soon forgotten.

So, after all that, what do I feel about You Instead? I think for a midsummer's night movie it would be pretty perfect. Maybe after a night out when all you want to do is unwind with your chums, finish off the wine and not worry about bothersome things such as plot and realism. You know from the first 10 minutes where things are going, but in the right circumstances the journey to get there should provide you with a warm glow.

You Instead will be on general release in the summer.

Wrapped Up in Books: The Best of Aye Write...

Glasgow's festivals continue apace. It's almost March so Aye Write! must be imminent to let us know that Spring is just around the corner as the big beasts of all things bookish come to Glasgow to talk about their work and themselves. 

There are old friends and new attendees this year, and while there are less big literary hitters than there has been in recent years, there is a greater variety of types of writers, and plenty of interesting events. Here are my picks of the festival, one (or sometimes two) from each day, and hopefully they'll include something for everyone.

Friday the 4th's pick is Graeme Garden, and is an example of the diversity this year. He's bound to be entertaining as anyone who is a fan of his comedy, from The Goodies to I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue will attest to. Garden will be reminiscing about 'The Goodie' years, so for a generation or two the warm embrace of nostalgia is guaranteed. He also appears on Saturday the 5th with fellow Radio 4 comedy panellist Barry Cryer, but unfortunately that's already sold out. .

On that Saturday I would suggest going to hear writer and comedian Des Dillon if you want some filthy humour delivered with an author's turn of phrase and eye for detail. If you are worried about your sensibilities then The Guardian's cartoonist Steve Bell is a perfect alternative, or accompaniment, depending on how much you intend to cram in.

Sunday sees some Scottish writer's who would all be worth attending. Jackie Kay's event is another already sold out, but if you like your crime writers then Val McDermid is one of the best. But my pick of the day is an event which sees poets Diana Hendry and Hamish Whyte appearing together. Having heard Hamish a few times I can only say that anyone who attends is in for a treat.

Monday: If you like your novels of the graphic variety then you should go and hear Mark Millar, a man who has just curated the Super Heroes retrospective at the Glasgow Film Festival. You may know him best as the  writer of Kick Ass and who also gave Marvel's Avengers a timely boost. He is always interesting to listen too on any number of subjects. However I'm going to be catching up with Robin Ince, one of the most thoughtful and funny comedians around today. Here's a clip:

Tuesday: The highlight of the day is a straight fight between Francis Wheen and Kevin McNeil. Not a particularly fair fight if I think about it. McNeil will be talking about one of the best novels of last year, his The Method Actor's Guide to Jekyll and Hyde, while Wheen looks back to the 1970s which he labels 'The Age of Paranoia'. If you held a gun to my head, I would say go to McNeil, but please don't put that to the test.

Wednesday: Sarah Brown's appearance is sold out and the only other person who catches my eye that day is journalist Gary Younge who is going to be tackling personal identity, religion, nation, race and region. So nothing too heavy then.

Thursday: There are events which feature novelist Rodge Glass, TV historian Niall Ferguson, actor Christopher Stevens talking about the life of Kenneth Williams and a night from DisComBoBulaTe where comedy meets poetry, and which features Michael Redmond, Arnold Brown, Alan Bissett and Magi Gibson. But the highlight of the day will be philosopher John Gray who will, as usual, ask all sorts of questions concerning existence that will wake you up in the middle of the night. 

Friday: And we're almost done. If you want end of the week entertainment then it has to be Christopher Brookmyre and Billy Franks. For thought provoking political chat head to Polly Toynbee and David Walker, and if thespian reminiscences are your thing then it has to be John Cairney. I'll be off to bed early as tomorrow I want to look my best.

Saturday: Saving the best for last, the star of the festival will be Alasdair Gray, how could it not? This is the most interesting day for those who are fans of fiction. Other writers around the place include Iain Banks (more of whom below), David Shrigley, Louise Welsh and James Robertson. All of these writers had some of the best books that were published last year, and they'll all be value for money. But Gray will steal the show, and if you've never seen him read or in discussion this should get you buying tickets. This is Mr Gray talking about his last novel Old Men in Love:

Aye Write! is an important date on the festival calendar, and with rumours of funding difficulties, I hope such problems can be swiftly overcome. It's a good sign that many shows are already sold out. My only real bugbear is a selfish one. I think the programme could have been set out with a little more care. I can't see Alasdair Gray and Iain Banks for example, and there are other clashes of what I would describe as similar events. Of course this is inevitable to an extent, but I think some of the more obvious clashes could have been avoided. On the other hand, the fact that so many top names are willing to come to Glasgow in March is a healthy sign.

As usual events will take place in the Mitchell Library starting from the 4 March and continuing until the 12th. You can make your own mind about what to see by going to the official site which you can find here www.ayewrite.com. Tickets are usually £8 (£6 concessions). 

You Have Been Watching (Glasgow Film Festival Special)...Island

One of the many hidden gems at this year's Glasgow Film Festival turned out to be Island, a film based on Jane Rogers' novel of the same name, and directed by Brek Taylor and Elizabeth Mitchell. I had no idea of what I was about to see bar the brief blurb on the website. Set almost entirely on the Isle of Mull, it is basically a three-hander between the lead actors

It is quite breathtaking in places. It reminds me of some of David Mackenzie's best work, particularly Young Adam and Hallam Foe (and whose latest film You Instead should be one of this festival's highlights),  the films of Lynne Ramsay, Guillermo Del Toro's more considered movies, and the pop video and film director Tim Pope; I'm thinking specifically of his work with The Cure and Talk Talk. It's the cinematography that is the star of the show and prompts such comparisons. The way the camera catches Mull's terrible beauty. The close ups of beetles and worms, the way the changes in the weather are captured; it matches the fairy tales and myths that are referred to throughout. You can feel the landscape through the screen, the awe inspiring and the dangerous, and it not only fits the unfolding story, but allows the uneasy feel of the film to remain constant throughout

The three lead actors are superb. You would expect nothing less from Janet McTeer, a stalwart of stage and screen in this country for the past 20 odd years. She plays single mother Phyllis Lovage, who has escaped her previous life to live on Mull, and when we first meet her she is impossibly imposing, but slowly her vulnerability is exposed as her weaknesses are ruthlessly probed. Her opponent in the film is portrayed by Natalie Press, who you may recognise as April from 2006's Red Road (a film that I can't believe I haven't looked at yet) and 2004's underrated My Summer of Love. In Island she is Nicky Black, and is so reminiscent of a young Sissy Spacek that it is quite spooky to begin with, but you soon forget this and what starts of as an understandably numb performance becomes increasingly animated yet subtle as her past and present clash in the most unexpected of ways and she starts to discover secrets about herself and the people she finds herself with. 

But the real surprise is Colin Morgan as Calum, Phyllis's 20 something son. I say surprising as I've watched a couple of episodes of BBC's Merlin, where he plays the title role, and have seen nothing to suggest he could actually act. Here he manages to imbue Calum with innocence without making him over sentimental. We are never sure whether his naive outlook on life is a result of his mother's over protection, or whether she has protected him from a world he is ill equipped to face. It's a lovely performance and I hope he manages to escape Camelot soon and return to more demanding fare. 

As Island nears the end it becomes quite shocking, and almost moves into horror movie territory. It certainly makes you move to the edge of your seat, and the film finishes with the brave decision not to neatly tie things together. You leave the cinema wanting to know what happens to Calum and Nicky, something I didn't expect when I first met these characters. It is, in every sense, a tragedy that is only lifted by the possibility of what the future may hold. Here's the trailer:

This is where such festivals come into there own, letting audiences see what is on offer outside of the weekly releases into Cineworld. Glasgow Film Festival gets the balance between the unknown, the well-loved, the unusual and the popular just right. If you haven't made it along yet there's still plenty of time, and you can find what's available here www.glasgowfilm. I think this year has been the most assured and varied Glasgow Film Festival to date. I'm already excited by what they'll programme for next year.

You Have Been Watching...Doomsday

Remember when I first started You Have Been Watching? I said I would look at all Scottish films no matter what their artistic worth? It's time I put that to the test. This week's film is Neil Marshall's Doomsday, and it is without doubt the trashiest film I've looked at so far. But it's as entertaining as a bag of caffeinated monkeys.

I'll sketch the outline before colouring in with detail. There has been a deadly viral breakout in Scotland, the Reaper virus, and it is one that has no cure. So the UK government decides to cut the country off and erects a modern day Hadrian's Wall which stretches round the whole coastline. Scotland is cut off, left to die, and forgotten until the virus appears in London decades later. We are then told that there are now signs of life in Scotland, which means survivors, and possibly a cure. A crack team (it's always a crack team) of soldiers are sent in to Scotland to bring the cure home.

Doomsday is a cult movie fan's dream. It stars the original Lara Croft Rhona Mitra, Doctor Who/Wurzel Gummidge's boy Sean Pertwee, local lad Martin Compston, Adrian Lester, serial chewer of scenery David O'Hara and a couple of cameos from Bob Hoskins and Malcolm McDowell. Every one involved understands just what sort of film they're in and acts accordingly. There are some huge performances going on, with McDowell in particular ramping up the Shakespearean flourishes. Mitra is the film's hero, and she's perfect in the role. I've a feeling that Marshall told her to watch Mel Gibson in Mad Max and asked her to capture his style. She's certainly the boss in a group where there are plenty of Alpha males ready to challenge her. Marshall is a director who always writes strong roles for women, and Doomsday is no exception. It wears its influences with pride. The Mad Max  trilogy, The Warriors, Excalibur, Escape From New York (Mitra's Eden Sinclair is a female Snake Plissken in look and attitude) countless zombie and cannibal movies all have homage paid to them.

The film is slow to begin with as exposition is given in detail, but once the team get to Glasgow everything kicks into a different gear that doesn't let up until the credits roll. We meet Sol and his cannibalistic tribe of steam punks who have managed to survive the virus on a diet of human flesh and a penchant for 80s pop, (Fine Young Cannibals! You see what he did there?). There are some spectacularly violent and graphic scenes before what's left of our heroes escape to the country only to find an Arthurian nightmare, one where Malcom McDowell is king, and where more people will be decapitated before the inevitable escape in a top of the range Bentley. Of course.

There are some great set pieces. The early shots of the infected Scotland, the building of the wall, driving into Glasgow, Sol's 'palace' and one of the best car chases of recent years. This is a trashy film, but it's a beautiful one. Marshall is one of the UK's better film makers, and Doomsday has its tongue firmly lodges in its cheek. Other Marshall movies are the low-budget werewolf film Dog Soldiers, the terrifying, particularly for a claustrophobic, The Descent, and last year saw the release of his Roman epic Centurion in which he gets to kill lots more Scots. I'll talk about Centurion in the future, but, as with Doomsday, it's a hoot.

It would be an understatement to say that Doomsday is not for everyone, but it will be for more people than you may expect. The film doesn't stand up to too much inspection, but if you've an hour and a half to spare then switch your mind into neutral, relax, and enjoy the ride. This is the trailer:

At the time when Mark Millar, the comic book writer whose Kick Ass was the source material for one of the best films of last year, claims that Scottish film is not diverse enough, it is important to remind people that film  that has a Scottish context doesn't have to be about alcoholic fathers and violent sons, and that there are film-makers who think outside the box marked 'gritty and urban'. What's interesting is that, with the notable exception of Richard Jobson, the film-makers that look at Scotland through a different lens are often from outside Scotland originally. Millar makes a relevant point. There is not enough diversity in Scottish film, and a director such as Neil Marshall, or Shane Meadows,  show us just what can be done, often with relatively small budgets. We can't be serious all the time. Where's the fun in that?

No Error For Margin: The Margins Book and Music Festival Hits Town...

This coming weekend sees the inaugural Margins Book and Music Festival organised by those lovely people at Cargo Publishing. Billed as a celebration of live music and literature, this will be four days (17th-20th) featuring some of the best known names in Scottish literature lining up to read beside the up and coming, as well as a great selection of bands and singers who would mostly find a home in the indie/folk section of your music collection.

The line-up is impressive on both counts. Writers involved include Alan Bissett, Ryan Van Winkle, Annelise Mackintosh, Kirstin Innes, Rodge Glass, Doug Johnstone (whose novel The Ossians I've just finished reading, and it's really rather good) and Ewan Morrison. Music comes from Billy Liar, Toby Mottershead, Burnt Island, Small Feet, Little Toes and the lovely sound of Withered Hand amongst others. But if you want two solid reasons to attend at least two of the seven shows over the festival they are the legends who are Liz Lochhead and Tom Leonard, two of our greatest poets who you must see live. Actually there are three solid reasons. Every show is only one pound admission. A full festival weekend pass for £7! If you've been thrown out the house then that's cheaper than a hostel.

Everything takes place in Glasgow's Stereo on Renfield Lane, and you can browse the full line-up and times by going to www.cargopublishing.com. As a bit of a taster here are a couple of clips of two of those taking part. First up is Alan Bissett performing a 'Moira Monologue', followed by Withered Hand with the lovely Religious Songs:

I'm really excited about Margins, but considering it has writing, music and there's drink involved then that's not too surprising. If I could only get them to stick on a couple of films and rustle up a Thai Green curry then I would have the perfect weekend. So save me a seat near the front and I'll buy you a drink. 

When Meryl Met Ginger: It's The Glasgow Film Festival ...

It's Glasgow Film Festival time again, and it is another belting programme. There are Great Scots, Superheroes, Bollywood movies, Shorts, Independents, British films, European films and World films. There will be discussions on Fashion in Film, Gaelic cinema and Youth cinema. Other events include a Meryl Streep retrospective (which is better than it has any right to be), the films of Ginger Rogers and the hardy perennials which are Frightfest and the Film and Music Festival.  I'll keep it simple. Here's my pick of the flicks.

First up is The Deer Hunter, which is a top five regular for me. It's part of the Meryl Streep retrospective, and, along with Sophie's Choice and The French Lieutenant's Woman, reminds those of us who sometimes forget just what a great actress she is. You'll even forgive her Death Becomes Her. Maybe. Here's the trailer:

The Deer Hunter is on at the GFT on the17th and in Cineworld on the18th.

Next up is Submarine, the directorial debut from Richard Ayoade who people will know better as Moss from The IT Crowd or Saboo in The Mighty Boosh. The chat about this film has only been positive, and when you consider that it stars two of Britain's most endearing actors, Paddy Considine and Sally Hawkins, this is a film that could just be a bit special. This is the trailer:

Submarine is at the GFT on the 18th and 19th Feb, with the director and some of the actors making an appearance on the earlier date.

For a bit of old fashioned glamour you can't beat Fred and Ginger in Top Hat. It's part of a terrific Ginger Rogers retrospective and it's at the GFT in cinema 1 on Tuesday the 22nd. Ginger is often overshadowed by Fred Astaire, but she's no Andrew Ridgley. Theirs was an equal partnership, at least on screen, and Top Hat shows this better than any other film:

My pick of the festival must be Howl. It's about the life of poet Allan Ginsberg and his role in the movement that they named the beat generation. The film is named after his astonishing stream of consciousness poem, which made enough of an impact as to make Ginsberg one of the standard bearers of this anti-establishment movement. Central to the film is the trial where Ginsberg's publishers were charged with obscenity, and it asks questions about censorship, art and freedom of speech that are still relevant today. It stars James Franco, who is quickly becoming one of Hollywood's best actors, Mad Men's John Hamm, and has an all too rare sighting of Mary Louise Parker. Howl is on in cinema 2 of the GFT on the 18th and 19th. If you like poetry, and you like film, this has got to be seen. This trailer should convince you:

My final pick is the Director's Cut of The Tin Drum. It's Volker Schlöndorff's adaptation of  Günter Grass's 1959 magical realist novel of the same name, and if you haven't seen this film I can't recommend it highly enough. It is the blackest of comedies, and those of a sensitive nature may find the idea of a young boy taking lovers unsettling, but in the context of the film it makes perfect sense. The crucial central role of Oskar is played by David Bennent, who fans of Ridley Scott's unjustly ridiculed Legend may recognise as Honeythorn Gump, and he is mesmerising. The film has fairly heavy Fellini influences, and if your unsure if it's your cup of tea then here's the trailer to help you decide:

The Tin Drum is on at Cineworld on the 20th and 21st.

That's your whack, but there's a huge selection that I've only touched upon. For all the info you need go to www.glasgowfilm. There is increasingly popular opinion that the Glasgow Film Festival has quietly been outshining its more famous Edinburgh cousin for some time now.  You may say that, I couldn't possibly comment. What I will say is that this year, as with every year, there really is something on screen for everyone.

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, To Come On Gang!...

It's the very definition of the 'good news, bad news' scenario. The excellent Come On Gang! release their album Strike A Match tomorrow night with a gig at Pilrig St Paul's Church, Leith Walk, Edinburgh. The bad news is that this is also going to be their farewell as the band have decided to call it a day. They are/were one of the only bands in the current Scottish music scene who embraced the aesthetic of pop music with open arms. In a similar way to Dogs Die in Hot Cars, BMX Bandits, the sadly missed Adventures In Stereo, and anything Davie Henderson is involved in, they have a way with a hook that few can match. You think it's easy? Try it yourself.

They are supported by Cancel the Astronauts and Over the Wall, and I believe there is the promise of a DJ battle (and you can take that literally) between Aye Tunes and Peenko. It's bound to be a cracking night, and if anyone deserves a right good send off it's Come On Gang! It's a fiver to get in, and BYOB, so if you are at a loose end tomorrow night and find yourself down Leith way I suggest it would be rude not to head along. 

This is a sampler of Strike A Match, and not only does it whet the appetite, it also has me missing them already:

All the best in your future endeavours. I'd love to know what they are.

Young Team: The Other Glasgow Boys Haste to Kelvingrove...

It was announced earlier this week that this year will see Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum become the only European hosts of an exhibition looking at the history of one of music's biggest ever bands, the mighty AC/DC. This is only right as three of the original band hail from Scotland. Lead singer Bon Scott was born in Kirriemuir, appropriately enough a town in Angus, and the Young brothers, Malcolm and Angus, belong tae Glasgow.

Scott died in 1980 and was replaced by leather lunged Geordie Brian Johnston, but the Youngs remain, and it is their guitar dynamic that is the heart of the bands huge success. They were the first band that I became a proper fan of in that I wanted all of their output, posters on the wall, and t-shirts which declared my allegiance. Of all the bands that I used to listen to in my pre/early-teen metal days it's only AC/DC and Motorhead that I still do so today, whereas the likes of Maiden, Saxon, Y&T, Rainbow et al have all been consigned to my musical history. Actually AC/DC were never really heavy metal, but a blues and rock n' roll band who liked to play it fast and loud. I'm really only mentioning all of this as an excuse to play some of my favourite clips of theirs. Live is where they really make the most sense, and if you do get the chance to see them I suggest you take it.

First up, is a cover of Big Joe Williams blues classic Baby Please Don't Go, later covered by Van Morrison's Them. It's a brilliant clip which captures all that is great about the band. It's stupid, childish, played at a hundred miles an hour, and with everything turned up to eleven:

The next is great for at least four reasons. Firstly it was recorded at Glasgow's legendary and still sadly missed Apollo, a venue that everyone from ABBA to ZZ Top hailed as being a special place. The band all don Scotland football kits for the encore, and Bon Scott's assertion that Scotland would be the next world champions seems not only laughable, but cruel when viewed through the lens of history, but in 1978 the whole country seemed to think that there was a chance it could happen. And then there's the music. The band do an approximation of The Bonnie, Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond before launching into one of their greatest ever tracks Rocker. Or to put it another way; they played a blinder:

Both of these clips are from the Bon Scott era AC/DC. They have made good music since, particularly the monumental Back in Black, but every album from the original band is outstanding. To prove that these were classic rock songs, and as a contrast to all this noise, this is ex-Red House Painter singer Mark Kozelek's version of the classic If You Want Blood. Kozelek's first solo EP, Rock N' Roll Singer, had three AC/DC covers on it, and his first full length album, What's Next To The Moon, was a full album's worth. I loved The Red House Painters and I love AC/DC, so unsurprisingly it became one of my favourite albums, and remains so to this day. Some people may think that these versions don't work, but such people are mistaken: 

The exhibition starts in September and runs until January 2012. It's got some act to follow after  the huge success of last year's The Glasgow Boy's exhibition, but if anyone can Angus and Co can.

You Have Been Watching...Whisky Galore!

This is one of the very best. If you've never seen Whisky Galore!, and that surely can't be many of you, then you have a real treat in front of you. Based on the real-life story of the sinking of the S.S. Politician, which went down near the Isle of Eriskay in 1941 along with it's cargo of 28,000 bottles of whisky. The myth soon grew that the locals had 'rescued' many of the bottles from their watery grave, and the seeds for one of Scottish cinema's classic films were sown.

This is a more radical film than it first appears, as is the case with many of the Ealing comedies. The writer Compton McKenzie adapted the screenplay from his own novel of the same name, and he doesn't miss his intended targets. The film looks at Protestant and Catholic divisions, the hold the church has particularly on Scotland's Western Isles,and the inevitable hypocrisy that arises from this situation.   McKenzie spent much of his life on Barra, and is buried there, so would have local knowledge as to the intricacies of life in and around the Hebrides. It is in this local knowledge that the films more subtle moments are to be found. He also wrote a sequel of sorts, Rockets Galore!, which was also made into a film in 1957 but it failed to match Whisky Galore!'s success. 

The comedy can be fairly broad at times. The two islands are named Great Todday and Little Todday respectively, the character of Colonel Waggett is an obvious Colonel Blimp stereotype, many of the Scottish characters are also well kent characterisations, and the whole premise of Scots addicted to drink during the week, and to repentance on the Sabbath, could be seen as being problematic. Although, since the whole film hangs on this premise it would be churlish to be overly critical.

It's directed by Alexander Mackendrick, who also directed The Ladykillers and the equally charming The Maggie for Ealing, and who also went on to direct one of my all time favourites The Sweet Smell of Success, the Hollywood Noir classic which starred Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster. The Ealing comedies seem to have a formula which most of the directors stick to, and if you want to see how talented McKendrick was I would suggest the later Hollywood movie is the place to start. But there are enough nice touches in Whisky Galore! that hint at what was to come.

There are a few well known faces on screen. Fans of classic British comedy will recognise James Robertson Justice, Duncan Macrae, Joan Greenwood, Basil Radford and a rather dashing, and youthful, Gordon Jackson. The supporting cast, when they get time on screen, are terrific as the comedy background to the action. There are real weather beaten, and drink soaked, faces on show, and that applies to some of the women as well as the men.

This is the trailer, followed by the drinking song scene from the film which perfectly highlights the above point:

You could accuse the film of bowing to Kailyard imagery of Scotland, of playing to the expectations of the audience, but don't we still do that to a large degree? We've maybe got some new imagery, the Urban Kailyard of Trainspotting, Hallam Foe, 16 Years of Alcohol, NEDS, and many more of the films featured in this series. What is true is that the pace is leisurely, which, perhaps ironically, adds to the tension and I find is part of the films charm. However, I have shown this film to quite a few audiences over the years, and you can almost hear some people losing patience, so maybe some will find that they too are inwardly screaming 'get on with it'. All I can suggest is that you relax, patience is a virtue after all, perhaps pour yourself a large dram, and enjoy the type of film that they really don't make anymore.

Support Your Local Librarian ...

I was blown down Edinburgh's Royal Mile the other day and sought refuge from the wild weather in The Scottish Poetry Library which can be found just off the Mile, at 5 Crichton's Close, the opening to which is just across from Cannongate Kirk. I ended up having a lovely afternoon catching up with old friends and making new ones. I grabbed a few collections from Robin Robertson, Ron Butlin, Dilys Rose, John Buchanan and Angus Calder and settled down. If you've never been to the library then you're missing out. It has everything you could wish to find with regard to poetry. You can visit their excellent website by going to www.spl.org.uk .

But the most fascinating collection that they have is the Edwin Morgan archive which is as exhaustive as it is wonderful. You can browse it online by clicking this link www.edwinmorgan.spl.org.uk and I urge you to do so. Here you can virtually view a lovely selection of poems and essays collected and edited by Robyn Marsack and Hamish Whyte and which was put together to celebrate Morgan's 90th birthday. Called simply Eddie @ 90, it has extra poignancy after his recent passing. 

They say you can judge a person by the company they keep, and the people who have participated in this collection offer an insight into not only the high regard and love that there was for Morgan, but it is as heartening as it is unsurprising that those who  stood up to praise him in this way are of such good repute. Amongst his fellow writers who have contributed are Liz Lochhead, Peter McCarey, Tom Leonard, Ron Butlin, Alasdair Gray, Alan Spence, Seamus Heaney and Bernard MacLaverty. But there are also members of that toughest of audiences, the academics and literary critics such as Alan Riach, Robert Crawford, Gerry Carruthers, Willy Maley, Margery Palmer McCulloch, Gavin Wallace and Douglas Gifford, and then there are contributions from a wide range of admirers, from sports journalist Kevin McCarra to actor Gerda Stevenson. These are all people at the pinnacle of their professions, yet there is a fan-like feel to this book. As if everyone involved not only wanted to profess their feelings for Edwin Morgan, but wanted him to notice their adoration. I'd point you in the direction of Ali Smith's contribution (p85 in the online version) and that of John Maley (p55). Both of these poems capture the essence of Morgan's poetry; that of a love for life.

There are three primary reasons that I fell in love with books as young as I did. The first was a father who was happy to read to his young son before I really understood what he was saying, secondly was the Puffin Book Club at school, which I hope still exists, and the last was my local library. It was a great place to visit and I was often badgering to return even when I hadn't finished the last load of books checked out. I just loved to be around the books and enjoyed the church like silence of the building (even at a young age I knew where I preferred to be. I could read what I liked in the library, the church had only the one book on offer, and I already knew how it ended).

It's only too typical that the library of my youth has been replaced by a block of flats. Libraries are under dire threat and their disappearance can only impoverish our communities and the people who live there. Today they are often the only places where some people can use computers, use photocopying facilities, find foreign language material, discover local history and information, borrow music and DVDs, and, yes, even read and borrow books.  Tomorrow (Sat 5 Feb) is a Save Our Libraries day of action. It is a day which deserves support, and you can find all about it by going to www.voicesforthelibrary. As far as I know the only organised day in Scotland is at the Scottish Parliament building at 11am (just round the corner from The Scottish Poetry Library. You can kill a couple of birds with one stone), but if you can't make that why not go along to your local library and pay it a visit, particularly if you haven't done so for a while. You might find you like it.

My local library is the one in the basement of Glasgow's GOMA, and it is well used, but government need only the slightest excuse to try and shut such institutions down, and of course it is in the areas that need the resources most that you can find the libraries which are in the most immediate danger. The American historian Barbera Tuch said "Nothing sickens me more than the closed door of a library". We'll be a poorer nation if those doors close for good.

Never Mind the Width, Feel the Quality: James Robertson's 'And the Land Lay Still' ...

Since the good old days of Sir Walter Scott Scotland has not been well served by what can loosely be described as the epic historical novel. This is understandable as Scott is often seen as the father of the European historical novel, and his shadow still looms large over Scottish literature.  We seem to produce writers who deal with the minutiae of an individual's life, the hardships and horrors, portray kitchen sink dramas, and apply existential angst by the bucketful. Perhaps the huge success, or more likely the heavy prose, of The Great Waldo traumatised a nation for centuries to come.

I'm not being entirely fair here. Lewis Grassic Gibbon's A Scot's Quair is epic in it's scope, but any way you look at it it's a collection of three individual novels, Alasdair Gray's Lanark has similar, if not greater, ambition, but I would argue that it is also, on the simplest of levels, two books as one. Iain Banks has some 'mini-epics' which revolve around single families through the generations, and there are some who would suggest that Trainspotting is an epic novel, although it is really a collection of interconnected short stories. However last year saw the publication of James Robertson's And The Land Lay Still, and Scotland had the big beast of a novel it had been crying out for.

It deals with Scotland's social, political and cultural changes from the end of The Second World War to just after the formation of our devolved Parliament. Robertson uses different but connected individuals to tell his tale which touches on the results of returning from war, North Sea Oil, the rise and fall of the Unions, the rise, fall, and rise of Scottish Nationalism, revolutionary communism, immigration, Thatcher and the tartan Tories, World Cup glorious failure, the decline of heavy industry, referendums on devolution, and finally post-devolution hopes and dreams. The writer's love for his country and its people is on every page, but so is his frustration at the more destructive aspects of Scotland's culture, and the old favourites of violence, sectarianism, and, quite notably, drink make regular appearances. In fact almost every character bevvies heavily,it's one of the few constants in a novel, and a nation, which both undergo remarkable change. 

The characters' lives are carefully interwoven, and the structure of the novel is a thing of wonder in itself. We are first introduced to Michael, a photographer who is undertaking to publish a collection of his more famous and successful father's photographs. He discovers a family holiday snap amongst the professional photos, and remembers the strange traveller who took it, and who handed the young Michael a small pebble. From this enigmatic opening we are drawn through the lives, and loves, of a very different group of individuals, whose connections are only fully revealed as the story draws to a close.

The loves are as important as the lives as it is the search for, or the absence of, love that is often the reason behind what drives the characters to act as they do. This is a clever idea as if we were asked to believe that the various activists, politicians, psychopaths, spies, and eccentrics that populate the pages acted only out of a sense of moral obligation or duty then this could have been a very worthy novel, instead of the human one it is. Robertson is a master of characterisation and here he manages the almost impossible by juggling a large cast of characters and keeping readers interested in them all. I can honestly say there were no sections where I wanted to rush through to return to a previous story line. I will say that the character of Don, a decent man who tries to do the best for his family and friends, but who still carries barely deserved guilt, is a phenomenal creation in that it is his very ordinariness that makes him exceptional. He represents the 'Everyman', and does so with great fortitude.

And The Land Lay Still is not only the best Scottish novel I read last year, it's the best I've read in years. The last one that I held in this regard was Ali Smith's The Accidental which was published in 2005, and which is a very different book. Robertson is proving that he is a writer that we can consider in the same breath as Gray, Kelman, Kennedy and Smith; those writers who I consider to be the best of the best. What they do that places them above their peers is to have extra layers to their writing, layer's you have to work at to uncover all that is on offer, and none of us should be afraid of a little hard work. 

I can't wait to see what Robertson does next. So far his run of novels The Fanatic (see The Fanatic...), Joseph Knight, The Testament of Gideon Mack and now And The Land Lay Still is pretty close to being flawless. There are many of us who were poorly served at school when it came to learning about Scottish history, in fact Robertson has claimed one of the reasons for writing this book was to explore this history for himself. If you want to know more about the second half of Scotland's social, political and cultural past then there are many great books that you can find to help fill the gaps, but they are to be found in the history section of your local bookshop (those that are left), and none of them will be as well written and entertaining as And The Land Lay Still. Education, information and entertainment, you really can't ask for much more from a novel. Except perhaps, as Edmund Blackadder once suggested, to have it 'crammed with sizzling gypsies'.

Beautiful Occupation...

As reported on these pages, there's some great music being made out there, but sometimes you get the feeling that a lot of what is currently on offer is a bit safe, a bit too polished. Sometimes you want bands to shake you up a bit, get in your face. I love beautiful music, I listen to nothing else, but beauty is in the ear of the beholder and for me it exists as much in Dinosaur Jr's Puke & Cry, or You Trip Me Up by The Jesus and Mary Chain, as in any Nick Drake song. You got to have balance, and I think that balance is a little out of kilter at the moment. That's why it's the perfect time for Glasgow's Miss The Occupier to return to playing live. 

Don't misunderstand me, Roz Davies, Magnus Hughson and Ione Campsie can all play, and how, but they are unashamedly there to have a good time and they will force you to do likewise. You want a frame of reference? I would suggest The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, or, for the older punks out there, The Rezillos.

There is a theory that three is the magic number when it comes to the best bands. The Jam, Nirvana, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Shellac, Violet Femmes, the aforementioned Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs and Dinosaur Jr, and, of course, the legend that is Motörhead, are just a few who spring to mind. This is one of those debates that is impossible to resolve, but it is a strong argument to suggest that there is less room for unnecessary excess when rock music is pared down to drums, bass, guitar and vocals. This is never more true than when such bands play live, where there is often a feeling that everyone on stage is in this together. If you consider the above names, they are all renowned as live acts, and the same applies to Miss The Occupier.

This is the title track from last year's E.P. The Heart is Deceitful (Above All Things), which I'm assuming was inspired by the underrated Asia Argento movie of the same name, and if you don't like this song then I'm not sure you and I can be friends any more:

If you want to hear more you can pop over to misstheoccupier.bandcamp where you can sample all the tracks and get yourself a copy.