Here’s a British comedy-drama from 1983 called Local Hero. Directed and written by Bill Forsyth, it’s in a group of UK films considered at classic.

Loosely based on real events, it tells the tale of a small Scottish community on the verge of extreme wealth.

However, sleepy village life has its way of affecting even the most corporate minded individuals and the quiet Highland life continues unaffected. It’s a quaint film, but has stood the test of time very well.

Scotland, Sunsets, and the Oil Boom in Local Hero

Local Hero follows the story of US executive Mac MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) who’s sent by a major US oil company (Knox Oil) to a remote village in the Scottish Highlands. The plan is to offer locals a huge sum of money to take over the area with a major new oil refinery.

Upon arriving in Scotland, he meets a local Knox employee called Danny Oldsen (a very youthful looking Peter Capaldi, who was about 25 at the time).

MacIntyre’s job is to acquire the village of Ferness.

Upon arrival, he and Oldsen meet Gordon Urquhart (Denis Lawson) and his wife Stella (Jennifer Black). Lawson is most famous for his peripheral character Wedge Antilles from the first three Star Wars films (just in case you didn’t know).

The Urquharts run a local inn and put the execs up, whilst beginning meetings for Knox Oil’s plan.

Gordon Urquhart becomes a negotiator for the village, with the community fully behind the buyout as they don’t like their hard lives and want to get rich.

As the negotiations continue, MacIntyre becomes increasingly drawn to the beautiful Scottish village and its antiquated way of life. He feels conflicted about the potential Knox takeover, with Ferness set to be replaced by a pollution pelting oil refinery.

Whilst this plays out, Oldsen flirts outrageously with local marine researcher Marina (Jenny Seagrove).

And that really is most of the plot.

It’s a slow burner, with no huge payoff other than its quiet contemplation on the genuinely important things in life. Considering this was filmed in 1982, it’s a tragedy capitalism has driven us as far away from the message of Local Hero as possible.

That’s not to say the film’s message is muted.

We think Local Hero’s real triumph is embedding viewers in the daily lives of a sleepy Scottish village and its various customs and eccentricities. You meet almost everyone, see them interact, socialise, dance, celebrate—it’s a wonderfully recreated sense of local community.

MacIntyre, played in calm and collected form by Peter Riegert, isn’t a smarmy corporate exec. He’s someone you can appreciate and respect—good at his job, considerate in nature. It’s his trustworthy personality that endears him to the local community, who accept him as their own.

It seems to be the many sunsets, and sunrises, of Ferness that really wins him over.

Surrounded by so much natural beauty, and the likeable residents (who become fast friends), upon MacIntyre’s return to America he deeply misses Scotland.

All very charming, then, with a slow pace that’s (we presume purposefully) atypical of many films. It takes its time to explore Ferness, its people, and a village community considering its future.

Yet the curious thing is it’s a comedy film without jokes. No punch lines or big set pieces, more casual little moments picking out the amusing idiosyncrasies of human behaviour.

The Production of Local Hero

The film was shot in the stunning Scotland Highlands, largely in the little town of Pennan, Aberdeenshire.

Local Hero’s story was based on the Scottish communities in the 1970s that attempted to make money off the proceeds from the North Sea oil boom. That was rather than accept massive offers from huge oil companies like Shell.

From a review in Cineaste we found online, that situation was described as follows:

“One original local hero was Ian Clark, the county clerk and chief administrative officer of the Shetlands Islands, who in 1973–74 used the skyrocketing of oil prices following the OPEC crisis to manipulate Shell—which reportedly said he was harder to negotiate with than then Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi—by rejecting its first offer and threatening to block the development of the Sullom Voe oil terminal. According to The Scotsman newspaper in 2005, Clark suspected the oil companies thought the Shetlands council was ‘completely bereft of all business-sense.’ Shell subsequently made an offer that the council convener feared was ‘so generous as to prompt central government to interfere’ and that ushered in an era of unparalleled prosperity for the islanders.”

These stories inspired director and writer Bill Forsyth to pen the script. He’d already completed the films The Sinking Feeling (1979) and Gregory’s Girl (1981). Forsyth didn’t continue his film career much further, the last project he completed was in 1999.

He had a budget of around £3 million to work with and Local Hero proved a modest hit, bringing home almost $6 million at the global box office. It was critically acclaimed from the moment of launch and got nominations for all major British film top honours.

Pennan’s tourism skyrockets thanks to the film’s launch, with many fans immediately going hunting for the little village and (in particularly) the red phone booth that’s used repeatedly by MacIntyre. The film depicts a beach next to the location, but in reality it’s nowhere nearby.

Those scenes were filmed in Morar and Arisaig on the west coast of Scotland (basically, the opposite side of the country as depicted in Local Hero).

As for the cast, Michael Douglas had wanted to take the role of MacIntyre, but Forsyth wanted relatively unknown actors. So, for many of the cast, it was a “big break” kind of deal. Although Hollywood legend Burt Lancaster does have a role as an eccentric C-suiter with an interest in astronomy.

Although Denis Lawson (of Wedge Antilles fame) is in the film, most cinema fans wouldn’t have recognised him. In the Star Wars films, the softly spoken actor always has a crash helmet on.

Here he is (minus crash helmet) with Jenny Seagrove (Marina) from a 2015 interview.

There is also the case of Peter Capaldi, who’s gone on to have a highly distinguished career. An Oscar winner and star of Dr. Who and as the foul-mouthed, hilarious Malcolm Tucker from The Thick of It and excellent satire In the Loop (2009).

Here is looking stunningly young whilst drinking a pint.

On a final note, if you want to watch the film it’s available on YouTube for free. Give it a whirl below to whisk yourself back to 1983, seagulls, sunrises, and many Scottish accents.