Rent Local Hero (1983)

A wee gem - Local Hero review by HE

Everything about it is so good: the dialogue by Bill Forsyth shines, the music by Mark Knopfler is knockout, the story, the cast, the setting....it's Scottishness was so on the money...the only bit I find tedious is the psychoanalyst..... it's not really a criticism, just doesn't add anything to the plot in my view.

A gentle masterpiece - Local Hero review by CP Customer

Perhaps Bill Forsythe's best film, with a touch of the Ealing Comedies about it (Whisky Galore comes to mind). It's a wistful reflection on Scottish identity, the virtues of small-town life and the value (or not) of money. It's sentimental, but (imho) in a really good way, with lovely performances by the main actors and a fabulous supporting cast. Well worth seeing (or seeing again. And again).

You Can’t Buy the Sky - Local Hero review by griggs

There’s a kind of magic in Local Hero that sneaks up on you—part fish-out-of-water comedy, part quiet lament for what progress tends to flatten. On paper, it’s a slight story: a Texan oil exec is sent to buy a sleepy village. But Bill Forsyth weaves it into something gentle, ironic, and quietly profound. The humour is bone-dry, the characters all slightly odd but never mocked, and landscape isn’t just pretty—it’s quietly mythic.

Mark Knopfler’s score shimmers through it all, as wistful as a memory you can’t quite place. It’s not flashy, and not much really happens, but that’s sort of the point. Everyone’s drifting toward something—belonging, escape, home—even if they;re not sure what that means. On rewatch, it feels richer, sadder, funnier. A reminder that the best films don’t shout to be heard—they just hang around your head, like sea air or missed chances.