Restless Natives

UK Release Date: June 1985

Certification: PG

Director: Michael Hoffman

Cast: Ned Beaty, Vincent Friell, Bernard Hill, Teri Lally, Joe Mullaney, Robert Urquhart

Rating: 60%

The clown and the Wolfman.

Review:  

Restless Natives is a charming Scottish crime movie released during the 80's that has slowly become a cult classic amongst Scots due to Big Country's soundtrack and quirky story.

The biggest compliment of Restless Natives is that it exposes Scottish culture, my culture, on the big screen. Seeing places that I've been to in real life, in a movie is refreshing as our beautiful landscape isn't used in as many movies as it should be. Furthermore the movie is all beautifully shot.  

The dynamic between Vincent Friell as Will and Joe Mullaney as Ronnie felt very genuine to me which benefited towards the movie's realism. Whilst their acting isn't anything Oscar worthy, some of the interactions and conversations between the two felt like it could've been me and my friends talking. Michael Hoffman throws us straight into their story allowing us to connect with the two and watch their journey from robbers to Robin Hood like figures in the short runtime was terrific storytelling. Another factor that added to the likability of the two is their costumes. I thought it was a really cool premise having them dress up in a novelty clown and wolf mask.

As with most crime movies - which is slowly becoming one of my favourite genres alongside thrillers - the movie's concept is incredibly interesting. Instead of trying to steal diamonds or robbing banks, the movie has our characters holding up buses and being chased by police cars. It was a revitalising and grounded take.

Being made during the 1980's, only having a runtime of an hour and a half and having a small budget of £1 million, the movie doesn't feel like a feature-length production - making it also feel extremely dated. Alongside this Restless Natives, a comedy at heart, really isn't that funny which disappointed me because it's my sort of humour - sarcasm and Scottish slang. But it didn't land too often in my opinion. Having said that, the scene in the park is hilarious. 

Overall, I believe that whilst Restless Natives isn't the greatest movie of all time it's certainly worth a watch and is entertaining and enjoyable at most points. Would love to see a remake with a higher budget and more notable actors.