''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 th ...

. It stars

Peter Mullan Peter Mullan (; born 1959) is a Scottish actor and filmmaker. His credits include '' Riff-Raff'' (1991), '' Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Braveheart'' (1995), '' Trainspotting'' (1996), '' My Name Is Joe'' (1998), '' The Claim'' (2000), '' Neds'' ( ...

as Frank Redmond, an engineer in the shipyards on the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

, 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, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. Featuring an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many 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 to the po ...

, it co-stars

Brenda Blethyn Brenda Blethyn ( Bottle; born 20 February 1946) is an English actress. Known for her character work and versatility, she is the recipient of various accolades, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and a Cannes Film Festival Award, as well as n ...

Sean McGinley Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-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; angli ...

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 is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

near the banks of the River Clyde. After completing the construction of the ship RFA ''Mounts Bay'', Frank Redmond (played by

) 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. Joan is studying to become a bus driver; an arrangement which she initially keeps a secret from her husband. His other son, Rob (Jamie Sives), is a devoted house husband who looks after his twin sons, while ''his'' wife, Angela (

Jodhi May Jodhi May (born 8 May 1975) is an English actress. Starting her career as a child actress, she is the youngest recipient (age 12) of the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, for '' A World Apart'' (1988). Her other credits include '' ...

) works full-time at the local Jobcentre. 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 Comfort, discomfort that may include palpitations, otherwise defined as a Tachycardia, rapid, Arrhythmia, irregular Heart rate, heartbeat, Hyperhidrosis, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, s ...

, 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 began his career on stage before starring in the film '' Dirty Pretty Things'' (2002), which earned him a British Independent Film Award nomination, and the BBC sitcom '' 15 Storeys High ...

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

) and Norman (

Ron Cook Ronald G. Cook (born 1 December 1948) is an English actor. He has been active in film, television and theatre since the 1970s. Early life Cook was born in 1948 in South Shields, County Durham, the son of a school cook and a car worker. Whe ...

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

Filming locations

The majority of the film was shot in Glasgow. The production visited Kent to shoot at the foot of the

White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover are 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, depo ...

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 pas ...

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

Cast

as Frank Redmond *

as Joan Redmond *

Jamie Sives Jamie Sives ( ; born 14 August 1973) is a Scottish actor. Sives was born in Lochend, Edinburgh. He studied at Leith Academy. Sives attended Leith Academy with future '' Guilt'' co-star Mark Bonnar. During their time at school, Bonnar and Si ...

as Rob Redmond *

as Angela Redmond * Billy Boyd as Danny *

as Chan *

as Eddie *

as Norman *

Shaun Dingwall Shaun Dingwall (born 21 February 1970) is a British actor. He has appeared in the BBC series ''Noughts and Crosses'', the BAFTA and EMMY award-winning film '' Responsible Child'' (2019) and the Netflix series '' Top Boy''. His other credits inclu ...

as Observer * Tony Roper as Merv

External links

References

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