Alcohol-fuelled remake of a true story
Whisky Galore (M, 96 mins) Directed Gillies McKinnon
Like Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob, Passport to Plimco and The Ladykillers, Alexander Mackendrick’s 1949 movie Whisky Galore was part of a fertile period for Britain’s Ealing Studios.
Based on the true story of the 1941 grounding of the SS Politician, it mined the unlawful pilfering of the ship’s cargo by Heridean island locals for hearty and subversive laughs to memorable effect.
But seemingly a film of its time (although the conspiratorial local conceit has been brilliantly reproduced in everything from Local Hero to Waking Ned Devine), a remake seemed inconceivable, especially in light of the troubles even the illustrious Coen brothers had in bringing The Ladykillers back to life.
But in the same 12-month cycle that saw Dad’s Army resurrected, perhaps it’s no surprise that we’re revisiting the residents of Todday.
Despite World War II raging for two years, the fight with Hitler has hardly touched the Outer Hebredian island.
That is, until this week, as the island runs dry.
Supplying the locals with whisky has become less of a priority in these straightened times, but it could spell trouble for the English commander of the local home guard Captain Waggett (Eddie Izzard at his pompous best).
Deprived of their favourite drop, the locals are getting mutinous, a situation that comes to a head when rumours fly that a shipwreck off the coast contains more than just furniture.
Knowing that only a strict observance of the Sabbath is holding back would-be thieves, Waggett braces himself for all-out war. But he isn’t prepared for the diversions, deceptions and underhanded tactics that locals are prepared to lower themselves to.
Gillies McKinnon’s (Hideous Kinky, Tara Road) Whisky Galore is far from subtle, but from Izzard’s constantly black-affronted army man to Gregor Fisher’s scheming postmaster there’s plenty of pantostyle characters to stir the emotions.
At times, the subplot of the latter’s two daughters (Naomi Battrick and Ellie Kendrick) and the machinations surrounding their prospective marriages threatens to overwhelm proceedings, but once the search for the smugglers ill-gotten gains begins, this alcohol-fuelled farce starts to catch alight. - James Croot
Whisky Galore is currently screening in New Zealand.