Rob Roy (1995 film)

This article is about the 1995 film. For the 1953 film, see Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue.
Rob Roy

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Michael Caton-Jones
Produced by Peter Broughan
Richard Jackson
Screenplay by Alan Sharp
Starring Liam Neeson
Jessica Lange
John Hurt
Tim Roth
Eric Stoltz
Brian Cox
Music by Carter Burwell
Cinematography Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Edited by Peter Honess
Distributed by United Artists
Release dates
  • April 7, 1995 (1995-04-07) (Limited)
  • April 14, 1995 (1995-04-14)
Running time
 139 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $28 million
Box office $31.6 million

Rob Roy is a 1995 adventure film directed by Michael Caton-Jones.[1] Liam Neeson stars as Rob Roy MacGregor, an 18th-century Scottish clan chief who battles with an unscrupulous nobleman in the Scottish Highlands. Jessica Lange, John Hurt, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, Brian Cox, and Jason Flemyng also star. Roth was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the treacherous aristrocrat Archibald Cunningham.

Plot

In Scotland, 1713, Rob Roy MacGregor (Liam Neeson) is the Chief of Clan MacGregor. By selling the Lowland gentry protection against cattle rustling, he barely manages to feed his people. Longing to alleviate their poverty, MacGregor borrows £1000 from James Graham, Marquess of Montrose (John Hurt), with the intent of buying and selling Highland cattle. Impoverished London aristocrat Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth) has been sent to stay with Montrose, who is implied to be related to him. Cunningham's mother hopes that the temperate Scottish climate will cool the fever in his blood, as his debaucheries with both women and children have become a problem back in England. Heavily in debt, Cunningham learns about the loan from Montrose's factor, Killearn (Brian Cox), who has been charged with looking after him. Killearn first converts the credit to cash without the knowledge of Montrose or MacGregor.

Alan MacDonald (Eric Stoltz), MacGregor's most trusted retainer, arrives and suspicious of Killearn, tells him that cash was not what was agreed. The factor tells MacDonald that Montrose ordered it. On his way home, MacDonald is ambushed and murdered by Cunningham, who steals the money and sinks MacDonald's corpse in Loch Lomond. Unable to pay his loan, MacGregor approaches Montrose and asks for time to find MacDonald and the money. Montrose promises to wipe the loan off his books, but only if MacGregor will testify falsely that John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll (Andrew Keir), Montrose's main rival, is a Jacobite. Considering this dishonorable, MacGregor refuses and an enraged Montrose vows to imprison him in the Tolbooth until the debt is paid. Instead, MacGregor briefly takes Cunningham hostage and flees. Seething with hatred, Montrose seizes MacGregor's land as collateral, declares him an outlaw, and orders Cunningham to bring him in "broken, but alive."

While MacGregor is in hiding, Cunningham arrives at his croft with a posse of redcoats. As the soldiers slaughter MacGregor's cattle herds and burn his croft, Cunningham brutally rapes MacGregor's wife Mary (Jessica Lange). When Mary tells Cunningham that her husband will come after him, she is horrified to realize that Cunningham is counting on it. As the soldiers leave, Alasdair, MacGregor's brother, arrives and realizes that Mary has just been raped. Alasdair vows revenge but a traumatized Mary swears him to secrecy.

Unaware that his wife has been assaulted, MacGregor refuses to permit his outraged Clan to wage war on Montrose. Instead, he decrees, "The best place to hurt the Marquess is in his purse. Steal his cattle, rob his rents."

Meanwhile, Betty (Vicki Masson), a maidservant at Montrose's estate, has become pregnant with Cunningham's child. When Killearn tells Montrose, Betty is dismissed from service and contemptuously rejected by Cunningham.

With nowhere else to go, a heartbroken Betty seeks protection from Rob and Mary MacGregor. Having overheard Killearn and Cunningham's plotting, she tells Mary who really stole the money. Mary plans to help Betty carry her child to full term, but she hangs herself in the barn of the MacGregor croft.

Determined to build an airtight case against Cunningham, MacGregor abducts Killearn and imprisons him on Factor's Island. Mary enters Killearn's cell and promises that the Factor will be spared if he testifies against Cunningham. Instead, Killearn sadistically taunts Mary with his memories of her rape. Realizing that Mary is pregnant, Killearn also threatens to tell MacGregor that Cunningham may be the father. Enraged, Mary draws a sgian dubh and stabs Killearn in the neck. The wounded hostage flees to the shore and is drowned by Alasdair, who believes him to have raped Mary, too. When MacGregor is informed, he instructs Alasdair to sink Killearn's body in the loch.

Meanwhile, Montrose tells Cunningham that he knows who really stole the money and that he doesn't care. Complaining that the ongoing thefts of his cattle and rents will impoverish him if not stopped immediately, the Marquess orders Cunningham to leave Clan MacGregor unable to ever humiliate him again.

In response, Cunningham and the redcoats begin to systematically burn the Clan's crofts. Although Rob Roy MacGregor refuses to take the bait, Alasdair attempts to snipe Cunningham, but misses. As redcoats swarm their hiding place, Alasdair is mortally wounded. With his dying breath, Alasdair tells MacGregor about Cunningham's violation of Mary. Moments later, MacGregor is taken prisoner.

When they stand face to face, MacGregor accuses Cunningham of murder, robbery, and rape. Grinning sadistically, Cunningham says that he enjoyed Mary far more than those women who slept with him willingly. He also confirms that he stole the money and murdered Alan MacDonald.

Meanwhile, Mary gains an audience with the Duke of Argyll and exposes Montrose's plans to frame him. Deeply moved by MacGregor's integrity, he grants the whole family asylum at Glen Shira, on his estates.

When MacGregor is brought before Montrose, MacGregor accuses Cunningham of stealing the money and murdering MacDonald. Unmoved, Montrose orders MacGregor to be summarily executed by hanging from a bridge. At the last second, MacGregor loops the rope binding his hands around Cunningham's throat, and jumps off the bridge. To save Cunningham, Montrose orders the rope to be cut. MacGregor is chased downstream by the redcoats, but evades them by hiding inside a cow's corpse.

Following his escape, MacGregor arrives at Glen Shira, where Mary is living with their two sons. He reproaches her for not telling him immediately of her rape. She apologizes, but says that she did so because she could not bear the thought of losing him. She further says that she can endure the trauma as long as her family is together. At first, MacGregor is deeply grieved by Mary's unwillingness to terminate her pregnancy. But then he comments, "It's not the child who needs killing."

MacGregor persuades the Duke to arrange a duel between him and Cunningham, who gleefully accepts. Before leaving, MacGregor tells his sons that they will soon have a new sibling. He instructs Mary that if he dies, she should name the child for him if a boy, and for herself if a girl.

Before the duel, the Duke tells Montrose that he will accept only the following wager: if MacGregor lives his debts will be forgiven. If he dies, the Duke will pay his bill. Meanwhile, Cunningham and MacGregor vow that no quarter will be asked or given. Cunningham, armed with a smallsword, sadistically takes MacGregor apart cut by cut. MacGregor appears to swiftly exhaust himself by swinging his heavy broadsword. At last he appears to be at Cunningham's mercy. As a gloating Montrose signals Cunningham to finish him, MacGregor grabs his enemy's swordpoint with his left hand. As Cunningham frantically struggles to free his blade, MacGregor's right hand seizes his fallen broadsword and cleaves Cunningham's torso almost in two. With his honor restored, MacGregor returns to Glen Shira and vows that he will never leave his family again.

Cast

Production

According to screenwriter Alan Sharp, Rob Roy was conceived as a Western set in the Scottish Highlands.[2]

The film was shot entirely on location in Scotland, much of it in parts of the Highlands so remote they had to be reached by helicopter. Glen Coe, Glen Nevis, and Glen Tarbert can be seen. In the opening scenes, Rob and his men pass by Loch Leven. Loch Morar stood in for Loch Lomond, on the banks of which the real Rob Roy lived. Scenes of the Duke of Argyll's estate were shot at Castle Tioram, the Marquess of Montrose's at Drummond Castle. Shots of "The Factor's Inn" were filmed outside Megginch Castle. Crichton Castle was used in a landscape shot.

Non-stop Highland rain presented a problem for cast and crew when filming outdoor shots, as did the resulting swarms of midges.

William Hobbs choreographed the swordfights, with Robert G. Goodwin consulting.

The main composer is Carter Burwell. Beside the film score, the film features a slightly different version of a traditional Gaelic song called "Ailein duinn", sung in the film by Karen Matheson, lead singer in Capercaillie.

Historical accuracy

Rob Roy MacGregor was also called "Red Robert" or "Robert the Red" because of his wild red hair. MacGregor had business dealings with Montrose for 10 years before the loan of £1000 went missing. The character of Cunningham is invented.[3][4][5][6] Details of Rob Roy's life are a mix of fact and legend; the film portrays Rob Roy "in the most sympathetic light possible".[7] Though called the Marquess of Montrose, James Graham, Marquess of Montrose was actually Duke of Montrose at this point in history. He was raised to the dukedom as a reward for his support for the Act of Union, whilst being Lord President of the Scottish Privy Council.

Release

Box office

United Artists gave Rob Roy a limited release in the United States and Canada on the weekend of April 7, 1995, and the film grossed $2,023,272 from 133 theaters. On the weekend of April 14, 1995, Rob Roy had a wide release and earned $7,190,047 from 1,521 theaters. It ranked #2 at the box office after Bad Boys. Rob Roy's widest release during its theatrical run was 1,885 theaters, and the film grossed $31,596,911 in the United States and Canada.[8]

Critical reception

Rob Roy received a mixed to positive critical response. It currently holds a 72% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[9] The film review aggregation website Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, reported that the film received an average score of 55 based on 19 reviews.[10] Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, opined, "This is a splendid, rousing historical adventure, an example of what can happen when the best direction, acting, writing and technical credits are brought to bear on what might look like shopworn material." Ebert said the film's outline could have led to "yet another tired" historical epic, but he found that the director was able to produce "intense character studies". The critic applauded Tim Roth's performance, calling it "crucial" to the film's success. Ebert was also impressed by the climactic sword fighting scene and called it "one of the great action sequences in movie history".[11]

In contrast, Rita Kempley of The Washington Post compared Rob Roy negatively to the action films Death Wish and Rambo. Kempley disliked the film's violence and wrote, "Frankly, Rob Roy is about as bright as one of his cows. He doesn't even recognize that his obsession with honor will lead to the destruction of his clan." The critic found the protagonist unheroic in his mission for vengeance. Of his enemy, she said, "The villains, played with glee, manage to perk up the glacial pace, but they too grow tiresome."[12]

In The New York Times, Janet Maslin gave a mixed review of the film. She complained of the film's "long, dry stretches" and that the "plot [was] too ponderous and uninteresting for the film's visual sweep". Maslin said one of the film's saving graces was the "robust" presence of Liam Neeson, taller than those who played his enemies, and his character's charismatic exchange with Jessica Lange's character, writing, "Rob Roy is best watched for local color and for its hearty, hot-blooded stars." Maslin acknowledged that Neeson was "a far cry from the dour-looking Scottish drover who was the real Rob Roy" and said that the film failed to convey the figure's importance to audiences. The critic highlighted the scene of Cunningham raping Mary as one of the film's "strongest scenes" which was appropriately responded to by the "cowboy justice" of Neeson's lonesome and avenging Rob Roy.[13]

Accolades

Award Category Name Outcome
BAFTA Film Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Tim Roth Won
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actor Won
Academy Award Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Nominated
Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor Nominated

American Film Institute recognition:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Williams, Karl. "Rob Roy". Allmovie. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  2. ↑ MINSAAS, KIRSTI. "Rob Roy: The Value of Honor". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "Rob Roy". Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Louis Albert Necker, A voyage to the Hebrides, or western isles of Scotland;: with observations ..., p. 80
  5. ↑ Duncan, John. "Robert the Red ( Rob Roy)". Scottish History Online. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "Rob Roy MacGregor and History of Clan MacGregor". Heart O' Scotland. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Ross, David. "Rob Roy Biography". Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "Rob Roy (1995)". boxofficemojo.com. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Rob Roy". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  10. ↑ "Rob Roy reviews". metacritic.com. Metacritic. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  11. ↑ Ebert, Roger (April 7, 1995). "Rob Roy". Chicago Sun-Times.
  12. ↑ Kempley, Rita (April 7, 1995). "'Rob Roy' (R)". The Washington Post.
  13. ↑ Maslin, Janet (April 7, 1995). "Film Review: Rob Roy; Liam Neeson: Man in Kilts". The New York Times.
  14. ↑ AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains Nominees

External links

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