On a Clear Day (2005)

Director:

Gaby Dellal

Writer:

Alex Rose (writer)

Release Date:

18 August 2005 (Israel)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Anything is possible.

Plot:

Frank determines to salvage his self-esteem and tackle his demons by attempting the ultimate test of endurance - swimming the English Channel.

Plot Keywords:

Swimming | English Channel | Beach | Friendship | Marriage

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 21	11:05 PM	PBS
Sun. Nov. 22	2:45 AM	PBS
Wed. Nov. 25	1:00 AM	PBS

Cast

Peter Mullan	...	Frank
Brenda Blethyn	...	Joan
Sean McGinley	...	Eddie
Jamie Sives	...	Rob
Billy Boyd	...	Danny
Ron Cook	...	Norman
Jodhi May	...	Angela
Benedict Wong	...	Chan
Anne Marie Timoney	...	Michelle
Shaun Dingwall	...	Observer
Tony Roper	...	Merv the Perv
Paul Ritter	...	Mad Bob
Andrew MacLennan	...	Andrew
James MacLennan	...	James
Irene Ann Burt	...	Vera

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some language.

Runtime:

98 min | France:105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | France:U | Australia:PG | Malaysia:(Banned) | Finland:K-7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:12A | Ireland:12A

Filming Locations:

Dover, Kent, England, UK

Company:

Baker Street

Trivia:

The toy that Rob takes away from his son at school is Thunderbird 2, based on the television series "Thunderbirds" (1965). Ron Cook played Parker in the theatrical remake Thunderbirds (2004).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Rob is in the café, the words on the front glass window are facing inside - not outside, towards the street.

Quotes:

Mad Bob: [showing off long scar on his arm] Shark. Thirty-five footer.
Danny Campbell: [showing off small scar on elbow] Fell off my bike. Two-wheeler.

Soundtrack:

For he is a jolly good fellow

Yet Another Bloke Changes His and His Family And Friends' Live with an Impossible Dream

"On a Clear Day" is another of a familiar genre of the plucky bloke who is retired (like "The World's Fastest Indian") and/or unemployed (like "The Full Monty") and/or grieving (like the "Rocket Man" mini-series shown in the U.S. on BBC America) and finds self-esteem by achieving an impossible-seeming, galvanizing goal.

Alex Rose's debut script tries hard in an over-long effort to find conflict, personal growth and resolution as inspired by a true story of a laid-off dock worker who decides to swim the English Channel, but it is ultimately not as moving as the best of these can be (David Lynch's atypical "The Straight Story").

The film does find a fresh angle in an exploration of masculinity, as Peter Mullan's typical working class guy, who of course takes an opportunity to tell off his boss, is contrasted with his son the house husband (nice to see ruggedly handsome, earnest Sean McGinley who I mostly know from TV series) with a too bland wife but with adorable twin sons. While it was also amusing that this is the second movie I've seen this year where a Scotsman is inexplicably held up as an example of the New Man, as in "Take My Eyes (Te doy mis ojos)", their estrangement seems trumped up over a not very big secret and too drawn out, as is everything in the film, and could just as well be about the difficulties of male-to-male communication, as it finally resolves in a lesson learned for both. There is a lovely small scene with Mullan watching a class of handicapped kids at a swim lesson, but unfortunately that's used for inspiration and not second career options.

The impacts his efforts have on his wife and the usual assortment of eccentric friends to be inspired to take parallel steps toward conquering their very personal fears are a heartwarming, if very predictable, side story, and I would have welcomed more of their lives and half-hour less of Mullan's comic training travails (though the funniest lines were already in the trailer). Brenda Blethyn in particular is wonderful as a mature, independently determined wife with a dream to become a bus driver, the opposite of her fluttery "Mrs. Bennett" in "Pride & Prejudice".

The cinematography makes great use of the Glasgow street scenes in sharp visual contrast with the white cliffs of Dover and the bluest Channel water I've ever seen in a British film.