Learning Some Scottish History with Rob Roy (1995)

I've had the movie Rob Roy on my list of things to watch for a long time. Having a Scottish heritage myself, I really wanted to see it. Starring Liam Neeson is a pretty good reason too. Other than knowing that though, I didn't know much about the movie. I can say that from the cover I was looking for some pirate gun action combined with some Braveheart-like moments. So let's just get right to it shall we? Find my thoughts on the other side of the jump!


Liam Neeson plays Robert Roy MacGregor. He's the local leader of a small settlement in the highlands of Scotland. He can't stand to see the people going hungry and cold, so he decides to sign a contract with the local English nobility, Montrose (John Hurt), to borrow £1000 to invest in cattle. What he doesn't realize is that two men, Killearn (Brian Cox) and Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth), are plotting to steal the money from his rider. What's worse, is that the two are servant and guest to the noble Montrose. With their insider information they manage to pull it off, and now it's up to Rob Roy to protect his land, his family, and if he can, his own life.

Liam Neeson brings Rob Roy to life in the beautiful hills of Scotland

First of all, I thought Liam Neeson was fantastic in this. Already having the accent, he sounds far better than any other actor in this setting. He was very cool, and it didn't take long for me to totally buy into his character. It also helped that he had a really great chemistry with Jessica Lange who played Molly, Rob Roy's wife. They made an amazing couple and the trials they have to go through simply wouldn't have worked so well if it wasn't for the great acting on both of their parts.

The cinematography is great in this film too, in my opinion. It even makes great use of the roaming fog and mist that is in those areas. When the air is clear though, you can often see for miles in the gorgeous rolling hills of Scotland. Some quick fact checking, and I can confirm that Rob Roy was filmed entirely on location in Scotland. So you're seeing the real highlands when you watch this movie. Now I really want to take a vacation to Scotland!

Rob Roy and Molly

While I really liked the acting of the good guys, I was conflicted with the villains. I'm not quite sure if I didn't like them because of their characters, or their acting. Brian Cox acted pretty much the same way he always acts, and the others didn't really do much to make themselves stand out or be memorable. I suppose Andrew Keir, as the Duke of Argyll, was pretty good, but we don't see him all that much in the film anyways.

Another problem with the film is that it's so long and drawn out. It's over 2 hours, and the setup for the story, namely the getting of the £1000 and the theft, takes FOREVER! I actually fell asleep at one point and I had to back it up and rewatch a good portion of it. Eventually the action picks up once Montrose demands too much of Rob Roy to pay back his debt and it held my interest from then on. Unfortunately that does nothing for the hour plus of the first half. 

Now, another thing I was expecting of the film was a lot of old fashioned gun fights. After all it shows him on the cover with two pistols ready for action! While there certainly were some scenes of shooting old pistols, most of it was of English soldiers shooting rifles at the Scots when the action is up and running. Also, there's a whole ton of missing shots because those guns really weren't that good. What was a little more interesting is some of the sword fighting that goes on instead. It certainly holds more bearing to the plot, so why they put guns on the front instead of swords, I'm not totally sure. Maybe they just look cooler.

I really didn't like the villain Archibald Cunningham

By the end of the movie, I had been enjoying the events for a good solid hour or more, but I can't forget that first hour and a bit of the movie that just took forever to get to the point. On the plus side you have the good characters and the views of the landscape. It's a tough call, but I think overall I enjoyed it more than I didn't. As a cool side note, we get to see how the traditional Scottish outfit is actually very practical, allowing them to simply sleep outside wherever they are because it all becomes a huge blanket to cover themselves up. That was pretty cool, I have to admit. I don't think this is a movie you really have to seek out to watch, but if you have the chance, maybe it's on Netflix, give it a shot. It has some good sword fighting and Liam Neeson. That's a pretty good combination already.