Watch Sunshine on Leith For Free

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Fresh and Exciting

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

I came into this film knowing pretty much next to nothing about it -- I do remember that one Proclaimers song from the 80s, of course. Mostly I wanted to watch Freya Mavor again, having recently seen her in "La Dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil." If there has ever been anyone born to be on the big screen, it's Freya Mavor.Of course, the super-added bonus was discovering that Antonia Thomas is in the film too. I didn't know any of the other actors -- I'm not Scottish -- and I question some of the casting, mostly because their singing voices (I'm assuming everyone sang their own part) aren't up to par. But Mavor and Thomas are quite capable of carrying the movie on their own. Both are luminous.Now, if you're looking for a unique and unexpected story, don't bother. You won't get it from this film, which pretty much hits every generic romantic comedy/musical theater cliché.But this hardly matters, as the cast -- and all the extras -- obviously are enjoying themselves immensely. Their enthusiasm comes through loud and clear and the pleasure and pride of everyone involved becomes part of the storyline, perfectly setting up the final scene.And that final scene is one of the absolute best rom-com/musical payoffs I've ever seen. Heck, I actually started tearing up over it, it was that well-done. The movie is worth it just to reach that moment. Perfect!

Sunshine on Leith attempts to do with the music of The Proclaimers what Magnolia did with Aimee Mann songs, namely fashion a narrative that interweaves the various tales hinted at in the songs lyrics. The story lines themselves are pure family melodrama, and like the renditions of the songs, some work better than others. Peter Mullan brings that gravelly majesty of his to the show, a credible thread of proletariat credentials in a film that largely strips the working-class despair and Scottish nationalist politics from The Proclaimers lyrics (the characters who sing of Linwood and Bathgate no more most likely have never heard of these places ever). His marriage crisis is genuinely fraught, and when his wife discovers his secret, precisely at the worst of times, there is a wordless look that passes between husband and wife that cuts the foundations of 25 years. In a film that is unabashedly going after froth and fun most of the time, this is a small, startling cinematic moment. The film is a love letter to The Proclaimers and to Edinburgh, and as such will satisfy audiences who crave such depictions. It is not normally my cup of tea, but I found myself rooting for George MacKay's Davy to do the right thing, and hoping Jane Horrock's Jean would find a way to forgive. As for the songs, 500 Miles gets a fittingly stagey production, but I can't help but feel the two soldiers, or the father and son, in the stands at Easter Road, belting out Sunshine on Leith with the Hibs support, would have been a powerfully poignant moment. A bit of a missed opportunity there.

Sunshine on Leith is a kind of 'Mamma Mia' for Scots twin brother folk/rock duo The Proclaimers - it strings a catalogue of their songs around a story of two soldiers returning from duty in Afghanistan. The opening, set in a personnel carrier where all the soldiers start to sing, is quite effective, except that it goes on far too long and the lead character is not established or marked out in any way.Once that's finally over, I think we get a kind of soap opera of two or more families and their Mike Leigh-style problems; I'm not sure because there is a long, repetitive song shoehorned into every scene, which goes on and on in that inexorable Proclaimers way that the twins Craig and Charlie manage to make work live, but when it's performed (or mimed to) by drama students (none of whom can sing and act at the same time) mugging their faces off, the song outstays its welcome over and over and over again.In every scene it's like some school production where the director said, 'well I know it's strictly not good drama, but you can all have a whacking great showstopper each, and we can all be great pals, OK?. Yes, even you, Peter Mullan, because no-one is to be left out'. The writer has just transferred River City to Andrew Lloyd Webber Hell. A TV soap script DOES NOT WQRK on the big screen, OK? After a while you start to imagine logos for advertisers drifting up on screen - SOL becomes like an endless series of outtakes from adverts for cider, as happy faces drift around glittering bars. The end may be good: it's isn't worth putting up with the first half for. You'll just want to change channel, like you do in the adverts.

I'd like to find something negative to write about this film but the truth is that from those dramatic opening moments of the atmospheric crescendo that is Sky Takes the Soul, you just know that this is going to be a good movie.Scratch that, it's going to be great movie!Now I have to declare a vested interest here in being an ex-pat Scot, however being a Glaswegian watching a movie set in Edinburgh you have to go a long way to impress me, but if I say - and if you quote me I'll deny it - that even I found myself falling in love with the majesty of Auld Reekie, then it certainly is impressive. As a vehicle for the Scottish tourism industry this is a great advert, from the Edinburgh Acropolis, to the castle itself, to the beautiful views of the water of the Firth of Forth to Princes Park and to night time shots of the illuminated Athens of the North, this is the Scottish Capital at its majestic best. After 19 years abroad, I finally found something to make me homesick.And at heart, that is what Sunshine on Leith really is, a love story set to the euphoric lyrical poetry of The Proclaimers, full of the joys and pains of life. Centring on the return home of two Scottish soldiers, best pals, from the war in Afghanistan, Sunshine on Leith deals with their challenges in making new lives and loves, its about their families, the challenges of growing older and maintaining excitement in life or at the younger spectrum, of deciding on who you are, who you want to be and finding out that the grass is not always greener but that often you have to find that out for yourself.For most people, there are two alternating states you will find yourself in at all times while watching this movie - laughing or crying. There is very little in between as you accompany Davy (George MacKay) and Ally (Kevin Guthrie) on their return home and the varying highs and lows of day to day life out of the rigid routine of the army, all of which is out of their control.The musical score defies you not to get up in the middle of the theatre and sing or clap along, such is the power of The Proclaimers' catchy tunes and clever insightful lyrics that capture the fears of young and unknown love, the blossoming joys of new relationships, the hurts of rejection and breaking hearts, the challenges of dealing with life in general and so much more. If you're not a fan of The Proclaimers going in, you will be when you come out. It's challenging to remember that the movie was written to the music and not the other way around as the two dovetail so well together.What makes it even harder to resist the toe tapping and humming, the laughing and the crying is that throughout the movie you are left with the sense that the actors themselves were having a great time making it, such is their own passion coming through in their roles. There are no big names to sell this movie as we've seen in other recent big budget musicals, just good solid acting, and perhaps it is the absence of any big names and egos helps along the chemistry on screen between the characters (not all of whom are Scottish it must be pointed out, not that one would know from their excellent accents).There are some great dance scenes throughout and watching Scotsmen dancing away with pint glasses in hand is a real representation of the local life and knowing that makes it all the more fun to watch. Resist if you can, the spirited rendition of "Over and Done With" or the mocking fun of the boys singing "Let's Get Married" in the middle of the pub while watching the football, let alone the progressive dancing through the National Art Gallery to the accompanying "Should Have Been Loved".There are some great moments throughout the movie that if unprepared for can be missed so brush up on what Charlie and Craig Reid (the twin brothers who are The Proclaimers) look like now, otherwise you may miss their cameo appearance early on in the movie which is funny indeed. Tribute is paid of course to Hibs, the Reid brothers' favourite football team and Leith local side. There are the in-jokes of the Scots between the civilised east of Edinburgh and the wild wests of Glasgow, just as much as there are the jibes about the Scottish rivalries with the English and England in general.Stand out moments must include the spectacular backdrop view from the windows while protagonists Davy and love interest Yvonne ardently sing the heartfelt "Then I Met You" quite literally at each other. Equally so, it is moving to finally see "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" returned to it's rightful place as an eloquent love song rather than a novelty of oh so many Friday night pub scenes and karaoke bars. And watch out for the charms of "wee" John Spence playing Ally's young nephew "Brendan" who steals the spotlight in his few scenes with his cheek and charms.Sunshine on Leith is the feel good movie you will want, nay "need" to see over and over again and each and every time you will laugh and cry just as much as the first time!