''On a Clear Day'' is a 2005 Scottish drama film written by Alex Rose and directed by

Gaby Dellal Gaby Dellal (born 1961) is a British actress, film director and writer. She was born in London. Career In 2015, Dellal directed '' 3 Generations'', a movie about a transgender teen boy played by Elle Fanning whose decision to start hormone t ...

. It stars Peter Mullan as Frank Redmond, an engineer in the shipyards on the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

, who becomes stagnant and quickly sinks into depression following his redundancy. A naturally strong swimmer, Frank gets an idea while on a 'booze cruise' with his friends to swim the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

. Featuring an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast t ...

, it co-stars

Brenda Blethyn Brenda Blethyn (''née'' Bottle; 20 February 1946) is an English actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and two Academy Award nominations. Blethyn ...

Sean McGinley Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

and Billy Boyd, among others. The filmed won two

BAFTA Scotland Award The British Academy Scotland Awards are presented annually at an awards ceremony organised by BAFTA Scotland. History The annual British Academy Scotland Awards were launched in 2004 to recognise outstanding achievement by individuals working in t ...

s for Best Film and Best Screenplay.

Plot

The story is set in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

near the banks of the River Clyde. After completing the construction of the ship RFA ''Mounts Bay'', Frank Redmond (played by Peter Mullan) and a few of his co-workers are laid off from the shipyards after 36 years service. This, along with his grief still suffered over the drowning of one of his sons many years ago, plummets Frank into a deep depression. He gets on well with his wife, Joan (

), but their relationship is distant. His other son, Rob (Jamie Sives), is a devoted house husband who looks after his twin sons, while ''his'' wife, Angela ( Jodhi May) works full-time at the local

Jobcentre Jobcentre Plus ( cy, Canolfan byd Gwaith; gd, Ionad Obrach is Eile) is a brand used by the Department for Work and Pensions in the United Kingdom. From 2002 to 2011, Jobcentre Plus was an executive agency which reported directly to the Minis ...

. Rob has a troubled relationship with his father, feeling the guilt of being the 'surviving' son. After a violent

panic attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...

, Frank realizes that he needs some focus in his life, and, after a booze cruise along the

, decides to focus his efforts on swimming across it. Frank trains with the help of friend and local chip shop owner Chan (

Benedict Wong Benedict Wong (born 3 July 1971) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Kublai Khan in Netflix's ''Marco Polo'' (2014–2016), Bruce Ng in '' The Martian'' (2015), and Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since ''Doctor Strange'' (2 ...

) and former co-workers Danny ( Billy Boyd), Eddie (

) and Norman ( Ron Cook) until he feels he is fit and ready for the attempt. A successful crossing alleviates the family tensions.

Filming locations

The production visited Kent to shoot at the foot of the

White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, depos ...

where Frank starts his swim of the English Channel and the famous cliffs can also be seen in the background throughout his challenge. The

Port of Dover The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pa ...

was used for the scenes where Frank’s family and friends race to meet him in France at the end of his swim.

Cast

* Peter Mullan as Frank Redmond *

as Joan Redmond * Jamie Sives as Rob Redmond * Jodhi May as Angela Redmond * Billy Boyd as Danny *

as Chan *

as Eddie * Ron Cook as Norman * Shaun Dingwall as Observer * Tony Roper as Merv

External links

References

{{Reflist 2005 films Scottish films Focus Features films Icon Productions films Films about grieving Films directed by Gaby Dellal Films scored by Stephen Warbeck English-language Scottish films 2000s English-language films