Spikeopath On a Clear Day is directed by Gaby Dellal and written by Alex Rose. It stars Peter Mullan, Brenda Blethyn, Jamie Sives, Benedict Wong, Billy Boyd, Sean McGinley, Ron Cook and Jodhi May. Music is scored by Stephen Warbeck and photography by David Johnson. Locations used for the shoot were Glasgow, Isle of Man and Dover.Emotionally shot after being made redundant from his employment at the ship yard, Frank (Mullan) searches desperately for some semblance of hope in his life. Then one day he finds a challenge, a test of endurance to maybe exorcise the demons that haunt his family: Frank aims to swim the English Channel.Following in the wake of great British comedy/dramas such as Billy Elliot, The Full Monty and Brassed Off, On a Clear Day is a perky, yet tender, human interest story. Story may follow a familiar course as regards a protagonist striving against odds for some sort of meaning, redemption, but it's how this particular protagonists actions affect those around him that opens this up as a more fulfilling story. Frank, his wife Joan (Blethyn) and son Rob (Sives) have had a terrible event in their lives, thus the relationship between father and son is desperately strained. Into the mix comes Frank's recent unemployment and the family is in danger of complete implosion, especially Frank who is extremely low on self esteem.Then there are the friends in Frank's life, Eddie (McGinley), Danny (Boyd) and Norman (Cook), and a potential friendship in the making with Chinese Take Away owner Chan (Wong). All men low on confidence, all about to become involved in Frank's goal, his attempt to swim the channel becoming a beacon of hope for all of them. It's this collective feeling of the underdog against life's troubles that gives the film its heart beat; if the film is a heart warmer? Then you will have to watch to find out. It's also very funny, even if much of the comedy is very "laddish", with character names such as Merv the Perv and Mad Bob, it's evident that some of the humour is colourful. While it should be noted that the Scottish accents are likely to be a problem for non residents of the UK and Ireland.Smoothly directed by Dellal and impeccably acted by the cast, this is very much a winner across the board. A film fit to sit alongside those British films mentioned earlier. 8/10

wordsmith_57 An endearing everyman movie with a UK setting. Frank, a traditionalist, would rather leave than kowtow to the new management. After 36 years of work he is at odds what to do with himself. He can't communicate his emotions to his wife, he barely expresses his feelings to his chums, and he struggles with his relationship with his son. Woven through this is the 23 year old tragedy of losing his other son to a drowning, which has haunted him all these years. Frank finds a way to redeem his self-esteem and that is to swim the English Channel. The movie weaves this main plot in with several sub-plots and it all works well. Indie movies are brave enough to portray real characters with plausible dialog. A tremendously capable cast with the talents of Billy Boyd (Pippin) as the comic relief, and Brenda Blethyn (Pride and Prejudice) as the stalwart wife, plus the wide array of minor characters, blend to create a thoroughly enjoyable family movie. Some of the lines with Billy Boyd are laugh out loud hilarious.

adrian_dungey This was a fantastic film from start to finish. I was a little sceptical about this film when I first read the byline but once I started to watch it I was enthralled to the very end. A film very much in the vein of The Full Month only with less stripping, less swearing and a slightly better storyline. You actually feel Franks pain as he swims the channel and you find yourself willing him on with every breath. A must see and definitely a 10 out of 10. The music fits the film well but is not too overbearing as seems the norm now in so many 'hollywood blockbusters'. The views of Scotland, the choice of locations, the supporting actors, the old pool where Frank practices all add to the enjoyment. So also does his relationship with Chan from the chippie who no one seems to know talks apart from the two words 'fish' and 'chips'. Watch out for the child with what I assume is Cerebral Palsy as he battles his own inner demon as he swims two widths of the pool, a stirring performance and one that deserves credit. The final locations of the cliffs somewhere near Dover, the boat in the channel and the beach in France bring a fantastic end to a fantastic film.

Alistair Newlands Not since old school days of Local Hero or Gregory's Girl have I had the pleasure of watching a real gem of a film from Scotland as ON A CLEAR DAY.. A tale of of a recently unemployed ship yard worker who seeks to heal the broken relationship with his grown up son after a tragic family accident..Not from emotional grovelling but by setting himself an amazing challenge of swimming the English channel Please check this out.. and swerve the American cheese-munger comedies. This is a neat and tidy comedy with raw emotion and a strong cast and plot to boot...