Sunshine On Leith is a film that proves that you do not have to be reinventing the wheel of cinema to make a truly brilliant film.

The film was adapted from the stage show of the same name and combines many songs from The Proclaimers in order to weave together a narrative. I have never been a large fan of musicals and when I heard it was based on The Proclaimers’ music, I’ll be the first to say I was sceptical. However, sometimes it is a wonderful thing to be wrong. The film carries a feeling of charm and magic that has you laughing out loud and crying until your eyes turn red, all within five minutes of each other.

Directed by Dexter Fletcher, Sunshine on Leith tells the story of two soldiers, Ally (Kevin Guthrie) and Davey (George Mackay), returning home from Afghanistan. Returning to their home town of Leith, they sing ‘I’m On My Way’ with cameos from two familiar faces. Within these first minutes the tone of the film is set perfectly, with a terrifying opening sequence followed by pure joy. From these two scenes you know that you are in for a grand time.

 

The film has flaws, no one can deny. The story is nothing new and you’ve most likely seen most of the plot points used somewhere else, but with this film it does not hinder the enjoyment in any way. I could explain the entire plot and you would probably think that it's not a film that someone could cry all the way through. I assure you, I am someone who does not cry often at films, and trying not to cry in that cinema surrounded by my family was not easy. The flaws are so minimal they did not influence my final verdict of the film in any way, and if anything only made me more impressed at how strong this film is.

 

The story goes on to involve Davey’s parents (Peter Mullen and Jane Horrocks). Within minutes of meeting these characters you become completely invested, and in a short amount of time I felt a lump in my throat that extended well beyond the ending credits. When bad things happen to these characters you feel a loss, you feel hurt that everything isn’t going well for them. Their relationships begin to complicate and each romantic couple in the film questions their strength and ability to stay together, resulting in some incredibly heart breaking scenes. While many of these scenes could be guessed purely based on the titles from The Proclaimers best hits- there’s probably going to be someone writing a letter from America, someone thinking ‘let’s get married’ and someone going on their way from misery to happiness- each time one of these moments comes up, the film delivers by adapting these songs into film in the best possible way.

 

The cinematography is gorgeous; Edinburgh is shot in such beautiful lighting and handled with such care. To see the place where I grew up shot with such respect is a joy to see, and never have I been more proud to be a Leither. The film feels like an authentic Scottish film, the slang is there and the accents are thick, and I think anyone who is not actually Scottish may need the help of subtitles at some points.

 

The songs themselves, from the less appreciated ‘Sky Takes the Soul’, to of course, ‘I’m Gonna Be’, are all executed beautifully, with all the actors having terrific voices. The songs all make sense within the context of the moment and the actors breathe new life into these already brilliant songs. In some cases I would say the film versions of the songs are even an improvement of the originals, so I don’t think fans of The Proclaimers have anything to worry about.

Performances are strong all round, and to see Peter Mullen not playing a Glaswegian psychopath and instead playing a caring father, with many of the most emotional moments of the film revolving around him, is worth seeing.

 

Sunshine On Leith is a heart-warming, emotional ride that will leave you laughing, crying and singing The Proclaimers for days. It’s not often that I will feel so strongly about a genre that I am a stranger to, but with a team that knows what they are doing, any story, any genre can be made brilliant. Out of all the films I have seen this year, I can easily call this one of my favourites.