Rob Roy (1995)

Cinematic and beautifully scored, but faulty scripted ROB ROY makes for tiresome viewing
What basically is known about Rob Roy Macgregor (Liam Neeson) has been fictionalized in literature by the two famous authors Daniel Dafoe in the 1700's and then more famously Walter Scott in the 1800's. The rest is pure speculation.When approaching the screenplay for 1995's ROB ROY, it would appear that writer Alan Sharp took a great deal of liberty with all versions of the Rob Roy legend and invented characters and scenarios in order to tell a story that would make an engaging film.Well,so we have it;a very drawn out folk legend that has the most interesting character in the whole bloody script,Archibald Cunningham,aptly and cunningly portrayed by a smarmy
Tim Roth, who is a completely fictional foe to help romanticize the fact that one of Macgregor's cattlemen, in fact, made off with Macgregor's borrowed 1000 pounds.Cunningham even brutally rapes Macgregor's wife, Mary,(Jessica Lange.....what is going on with her face??)in order to make Macgregor even more determined to have vengeance and clear his name.
This is a film about honor and an attempt to tell a story which many will believe as a faithful and true account of Rob Roy's life.Be that as it may, it is just a film and a handsome one at that,with smart and innovative editing by Peter Honess and a terrific "highlander" score by veteran Carter Burwell.The story?....aye, well there is my rub...does Alan Sharp want to tell a story of revenge or a love story? Also ,Sharp makes so few and precious references to "the Jacobites","the Calvinists" and "the Stuarts" that one really must know history well in order to factor in the importance of these historical references to his script.The fact that Sharp totally invents the character of Cunningham in order to make Macgregor a more sympathetic character than the "outlaw/Robin Hood" rogue that history makes him to be seems dishonest.I am of UK decent, so don't chide me as being unsympathetic...it's just that when history says one thing and a film says another,I am,in this case (not always) siding more with historical fact( what little is actually known to be true.It is significant to note that in Dafoe's account of Rob Roy,he wrote it in order to clear Rob's name before King George 1, so there is no telling how much fiction there was.Scott fleshed out his account 100 years later!).I personally just did not like the script,not solely because most of it is fiction,but rather it was not engaging or focused enough despite beautiful shots of the highlands and superb acting by Tim Roth (playing a character that he plays again in 2000's VATEL).I love huge period piece film generally,but 3 stars for this big budget,flashy and long fictional movie is as high as I go.

Auld Rob Roy O' Caldonia
This a decent film with a fine cast. The costumes are pretty good, although I think the tartans for the Gregor clan are not the old set that the clan supposedly wore at that time. This film takes place in 1713, a scant two years before the 1715 Jacobite Rising. References are made to this, but frankly more time should have been devoted to it as it bears much on the political atmosphere of the time.

Once again we have what has become the standard vilification of the English in movies like this. The foppish and cruel Cunningham, played brilliantly by Tim Roth is made to embody all the supposed crimes ever taken against auld Scotia by the sons of Albion. In fact Tim Roth's character seems to be a displaced scot, and the Earl on Montrose is also scots, even though he does not come across that way. The troops that are used to pursue Rob Roy are not English, but rather the Earl's private army. Since they don red coats they must be portrayed as evil!

Despite these heavy elements, Rob Roy is still a splendid film, as good or better than the overblown Braveheart. Both films deal with largely apocryphal characters, which allows Hollywood to have a free hand to invent history! The music and atmposphere are quite good, with the Chieftains used to play the spirited "O Sullivan's March". Still, where are the Great Highland Warpipes? There are none in this film. Seems strange indeed.

The swordplay is fine, with the final dual a classic example of Rapier vs Claymore. The rape scene is over-done, and again serves to villify Tim Roth's English style character. The film editors could have cut down on that, but Hollywood's anti-English slant seems to demand it these days. A nice film, with decent acting, good sets, but the usual flaws. The DVD should have some historical commentary about the real Rob Roy.

Rob Roy
Very pleased with the movie, glad we could get it on DVD. Service ordering and receiving was excellent. Thanks again