Stone of Destiny
Director: Charles Martin Smith
Based on the true story of young Scots nationalists who broke into Westminster Abbey on Christmas Eve, 1950, to grab the hallowed Stone of Scone, deemed stolen by imperialistic Limeys.
Writer/director Charles Martin Smith (Air Bud) brings energy and wit to this account of the incident, which is feather-light yet entertaining all the same.
In the grey mist of a Glasgow winter in 1950, law student Ian Hamilton (Charlie Cox) decides Scotland’s pride and his own manhood require a daring act of self-empowerment.
With a few pounds donated by leading Scots nationalist John MacCormick (Robert Carlyle), a borrowed car and a handful of co-conspirators that include the feisty Kay Matheson (Kate Mara) and the scrappy Bill Craig (Billy Boyd), the rock nabbers set their plan in motion.
To quote the Scots poet Robbie Burns: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley.”
One may yearn for slighty more heft to this Stone. The stereotypes are broad — could England sue for defamation? — and the film plays at times like a naughty schoolboys’ lark rather than a serious act of national pride. But this rock rolls.
Extras include a director’s commentary and a making-of featurette.
