Word: cunningham
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Beach Birds for Camera. Video screening and discussion with Merce Cunningham, Ruth Page Visiting Artist. Science Center...
...great hardship for the Scots. In an age of corruption and despair, Robert Roy MacGregor (Liam Neeson) upholds the ancient clannish honor. Supported by his bonny red-haired wife Mary (Jessica Lange) and a host of loyal MacGregors, Rob Roy matches wits and brawn with the dastardly Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth), bewigged defiler (and then some) of the MacGregor name...
...when he determines to borrow one thousand pounds from the Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt). The wheres and whyfores are slightly complicated (manifestly humanitarian, of course), but the upshot of the deal is that word of the thousand pounds reaches the ears of the money-hungry English fop, Archibald Cunningham. In between twirling his lace cuffs and showing off his swordsmanship, Cunningham contrives to commit cool murder and expert theft, and the plot is off and running...
Caton-Jones, at least, tried hard. You can-glimpse his effort in cute little by-the-way details. When MacGregor finally slaughters Cunningham (now you know--hopefully you won't bother to see for yourselves), the Marquis stoops over the body and pulls a cameo of Archie's mother out of the dead man's vest. Is the Marquis Archie's father? Intriguing, but we wish there had been some hint of the relationship beforehand. "Rob Roy" is fully of similar lagunas. One of the most glaring is the fade-out over the course of the film of the clan...
...dialogue too, with patchy results. The kind of faux Shakespeare that worked so well in "The Madness of King George" falls flat here, and the Scottish brogue overpowers some of the humor. There are just a few too many "whists" floating around. The best lines go to Cunningham, of course. When asked if he makes a habit of "buggering young boys," he replies that the last boy he buggered (several years before) he mistook for a girl, "as I'm sure has happened to you gentlemen...