Local Hero (1983)

2025-08-05
August's IndieWeb Movie Club was hosted by Thomas Vander Wal (which is a pretty cool last name imo). Thomas says has watched the film over a dozen times and still finds enjoyment in it. I can see why! It's a pretty small locale with charming cinematography. I can see why the marketers advertised the movie primarily with the red phone box against the blue sky. It is a lovely scene that later gets inverted when the sky is red all over instead.

Huge spoiler warnings ahead.
Here are my running notes transcribed:

• Oil Mining ad opens up the movie "A little time is all we have left"
  • There are literally fields on fire in the image to push the environmentalism message
• The board members are whispering to not disturb the CEO sleeping, what an embarrassing bunch!
  • CEO of Knox Oil and Gas, Mr. Happer, doesn't really care about oil and wants to have a starry legacy instead. He has a really swanky planetarium and projections built into his office
  • MC named MacIntyre was chosen to go to Scotland to acquire Ferness but Mr. Happer insists MacIntyre go to study the stars for him. Keep an eye on Virgo!
    • Virgo is an extra funny choice because MacIntyre can't watch a woman to save his life, not even bunnies named after women.
      • Literally three strike outs back to back, first with Rita the office lady who was about to leave for work. He asked her to dinner BUT SHE IS TRYING TO LEAVE; Mr. Happer's Secretary who is just doing her job, and Trudy who seems to be an old flame. He calls her over the phone to try to set up a date before he leaves. Their relationship must've been terrible because all she heard was MacIntyre accusing her of theft for keeping a packing pouch and not him going to Scotland for a swanky adventure.
  • Danny Oldsen was funny but what a bumbling fool! He is a happy fool though so who is the real winner here.
    • Both Oldsen and Macintyre are weirdos, a huge fog descends on them when they are driving to Ferness and they had no food. They chewed chocolate, what a bunch of big hearted weirdos. They took in a rabbit that they hit with their car, Oldsen names the rabbit Harry while MacIntyre names the rabbit Trudy. It was a clean leg fracture as explained by Gordon to put the poor bunny out of its misery.
  • MacIntyre is the American tourist so many people complain about, he yells for breakfast before 8 am, bangs on residential doors because he cannot help himself, and doesn't bring charging adaptors because the locals should have it. Why would they need to care about your ridiculous electric briefcase! Your unpreparedness is not their emergency.
  • I liked the gag where Gordon Urquhart manages the hotel and is also the local account. Not to mention the local part-time barkeep and accordion player. Loved the joke that the towns people were boggled that MacIntyre only had one job ahaha!
  • The church gag was so funny, I liked that "news travelled fast" and the way the townsfolk were "sneaking" out of the church. Peak physical comedy where Oldsen knew and MacIntyre was blissfully unaware.
  • There was a ridiculous amount of jets flying over the beach, "As long as they are bombing the beach, they aren't bombing anywhere else"
  • Gordon cooked up the Rabbit!! The rabbit with two names!!
  • The fishers were really funny, I loved the debate between a Rolls Royce and a Maserati for their practicality.
  • What on earth was that baby? She appeared twice, was she another hint at environmentalism where they need to think of the future generation? Everyone who is negotiating the sale of the town is an adult. No one knew who the parents are so it takes a village to raise a child saying?
  • There was a meteor shower! MacIntyre reported on nothing and Mr. Happer had to call HIM for the news smh
  • The Russian came in to get his accounting work done with Gordon and he brought lots of festivities.
  • An Aurora Borealis happened and MacIntyre knew to call asap! How would you even describe the colours to someone who is unable to imagine it. "It's red all over!"
    • This was when the deal was solidified with Gordon, American Dollars or Pounds, Pounds! The good lad.
    • However, Ben, a hermit that lives in a shack owns a 4 mile stretch of the beach that didn't factor into their calculations.
      • MacIntyre was not a bad negotiator but Ben brought in some great points. How was he supposed to make his living in a new place? Just because it looks the same to the untrained eye, doesn't mean it is.
      • But bing bong, his last name is Knox! I can't believe there wasn't more said about it. He is probably tangentially related to the oil and gas company founder. Unless this was one of those subversions that I don't get because I haven't watched enough small town dealing with oil exec movies.
  • Mr. Happer is ecstatic and takes a helicopter over but not before disposing of his "therapist" entirely. I have no idea what the therapist stood for but he was just an absolute terror. Mr. Happer said to "Send the Marksman" because the therapist was at his window pasting letters to taunt Mr. Happer. What was the reasoning? Who knows.
    • Mr. Happer finds common ground with Ben where MacIntyre failed to. They are building an Astronomy and Marine Institute instead :)
    • MacIntyre unfortunately has to leave the Idyllic town to go back to his real life despite wanting to stay and that's the end with the phone booth ringing ie wanting to go back
    • I like the fact that MacIntyre, the only one who was envious of the life on the island, ended up being forced to return home. I took it partly as the fact that he is not actually interested in the town and it is more about escapism from his mundane city job. His issue is that he wants Gordon's life, job, and wife but MacIntyre would take any job, be in any small town, or be married happily to any woman. He never really takes the time to get to know the town on a more fundamental level. Gordon even points out that MacIntyre didn't even know that Stella is the one who actually owns everything. It implies such a level of disinterest of the other person to me compared to how Oldsen was infauated with Marina. He was genuniely curious abut her work and devloped a curiosity for the natural wonders that were found in Ferness like the seashell he wanted to show Marina after spotting it in MacIntyre's hoard. MacIntyre couldn't care less what they were, he was just happy to have souvenirs. We even see Mr. Happer connect to the hermit Ben Knox, about unique planetary objects that can only be see from the beach. Instead of an oil rig, Ferness will be a research facility to enhance the community instead of extract from it. Nothing tethers MacIntyre to the town like it does for Oldsen and Mr. Happer. It has to be Ferness or nothing at all.
    • It is a bit magical in a way, MacIntyre is free to find other towns that can have their own shards of magic.
• There is a running theme of deceptive appearances
  • MacIntyre was chosen to go to Scotland to acquire Ferness but his family is actually Hungarian and changed the family last name to blend better with the local Americans.
  • Marina is a scientist at the local Scotland Knox lab. Everyone owes Marina an apology because she has 5 oceanography degrees, not allowed the information that Ferness is being oil-rigged (for good reason probably because she would have been opposed), and ogled like a prized cow. She is also a mermaid :)
    • The movie brings up that sailors used to mistaken seals for mermaids like the old selkie myth.
    • I was just watching the Phone It In with Josh from Good Mythical Morning who had the fun tidbit about manatees. They were mistaken for mermaids and Josh's sources were suggesting that the sailors slept with the manatees, but had scurvy so hallucinated mermaids.
  • The town actually really wants to get rich and sell the town. They can smell the money in the water.
  • Stella is technically the boss of the hotel but we only see her when it's relation to entertaining a man whether that be Gordon or MacIntyre