Mubi Monday: That Sinking Feeling (1979)

The first feature from writer-director Bill Forsyth, That Sinking Feeling is a light-hearted crime caper that is full of the dry humour, great observations, and moments of surrealism that fans of Forsyth have appreciated throughout most of his filmography.

Set in a fictional city named Glasgow (which is, of course, just playing itself in the movie, but the insistence that it is a version removed from reality is the first gag in the film), viewers get to meet a group of young men who are all struggling in different ways. Almost all of them have had some dark thoughts, and they cannot see a way to start making a decent future for themselves. Until Ronnie (Robert Buchanan) has the great idea to steal a load of stainless steel sinks. It shouldn’t be the toughest robbery to pull off, and the ill-gotten gains will provide a lifeline to Ronnie and his mates.

While not exactly Ocean’s Eleven, in terms of the sophistication of the robbery and the stakes for those involved, there’s plenty here to admire and enjoy as Robbie leads his gang to what they all hope will be a successful score. They will need to get the timing right, they’ll need a van, and they will need a couple of decoys in the shape of two young men pretending to be cleaning women. This is a robbery planned by people without the money or resources to make everything plain and simple, and the continuous ingenuity, whether ideas seem likely to work or not, has viewers hoping that this motley crew of criminals will make a success of their plan.

Forsyth keeps everything quite nice and simple, and embraces the fact that he is making a film in 1970s Glasgow. The views may not be stunning or cinematic, and there might be what feels like constant rainfall, but that’s how people may think of Glasgow anyway. 

Buchanan is a likeable lead, a “crime boss” with a conscience, and he is surrounded by cast members who are all enjoyably atypical movie leads. Billy Greenless, John Hughes, Drew Burns, Alan Love, Derek Millar, and James Ramsey are all part of the fun, John Gordon Sinclair steals a couple of scenes, and Eddie Burt, playing a driver also named Eddie, provides an absolute highlight of the film in the third act.

Wonderfully witty and warm, this should appeal to anyone who is familiar with Forsyth’s work. It will appeal more to Scottish viewers, and especially those who can remember waiting beside a pay phone to receive a message from a friend, but everyone can enjoy the characters, the dialogue (including some excellent one-liners here and there), and the familiar concept of some underdogs trying to claim just one victory, however relatively small it may seem in the grand scheme of things.

8/10

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