Film review: Sunshine on Leith (PG)

Dexter Fletcher, 100mins. Starring: George MacKay, Peter Mullan

Geoffrey Macnab
Thursday 03 October 2013 14:01 EDT
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Dexter Fletcher's rousing, low-budget musical Sunshine on Leith is so likable that you hardly notice that the singing and choreography aren't all that slick or clever.

Nor does it seem a problem that the lyrics of the Proclaimers songs dotted through the movie have only a tenuous connection to the story the film-makers are actually trying to tell.

Davy (George MacKay) and Ally (Kevin Guthrie) play young soldiers back home in Edinburgh after a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Peter Mullan is Davy's gruff but big-hearted dad, Jane Horrocks his long-suffering mum.

There are singalongs in pubs, brawls, romantic misunderstandings, digs at the English and, inevitably, reconciliation with a show-stopping dance sequence in Princes Street Gardens. It is the sheerest, tartan-tinged schmaltz but still utterly captivating if you're ready to go along with its excesses.

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