Shine on, Proclaimers

Running time 100 minutes Rating:***
Jukebox musical based around 13 Proclaimers’ songs, is a simple story of romance and heartache Review by Mike Beharrell
Some unkind souls would have it that many a recent film musical is little more than people prancing about, with an unwelcome propensity to break into song, and a distinctly tenuous connection between the two.
Through other eyes, it can take on an operatic quality, where there is something magical in the setting and the music.
So, can a Scottish musical take on this mantle?
Mere mention of the words music and Scotland can, for the unfortunate unenlightened, spark stereotypical thoughts of the wailing of pipes, and impenetrable verse.
So, going to see Sunshine on Leith (which must be some kind of irony) was always going to be a test, particularly as I’m English (sort of) and She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed is directly descended from a particularly determined branch of the Scottish-based Vikings.
Happily, I can report that the film – derived from a smash hit stage musical of the same name – is an enjoyable experience, unencumbered by too many tiresome and stereotypical references to pipe wailing, fish suppers and invitations to fight in the pub car park.
The musical’s storyline is based, loosely, on the romantic tribulations of two families in Edinburgh whose sons come back from soldiering in Afghanistan to settle down to normal life.
Ally (Kevin Guthrie) and Davy (George McKay) are two soldiers who find love, lose it, and then – inevitably – find it again. At the same time, parents Rab (Peter Mullen) and Jean (Jane Horrocks) have emotional troubles of their own.
It is tempting to think that for many an armchair traveller, the real star of the film is Scotland’s capital city itself, the film being finely seasoned with location references such as the Balmoral Hotel, Waverley station, and the National Gallery of Scotland to name but a few.
The songs, many courtesy of the Scottish pop-folk band The Proclaimers, are rousing, and the tales is moved along with good character portrayals and memorable photography – the landscapes are particularly stunning.
The only problem is tying it all together. The slide from story into song and back again remains disjointed at times, and one wonders if the storyline is really comfortable in the film musical genre.
So while musicals may not be your favourite form of cinema (although it attracted a fair audience on a Tuesday afternoon), this is a brave effort and worth supporting, even with its occasional digs at the English.