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On A Clear Day - DVD
Length: 99 min Rated: PG-13 Distributor: Universal Studios Release Date: 2006-06-11 Starring: Peter Mullan, Brenda Blethyn, Billy Boyd, Benedict Wong, Sean McGinley, Ron Cook
Directed by Gaby Dellal
Produced by Sarah Curtis & Dorothy Berwin
Written by Alex Rose
Visit the movie's Official Site!
The Movie:  A nice touch in the film is that, because the story is so centered on telling Frank’s tale and not littered with extraneous fluff for the sake of cheap laughs or unnecessary shock value, the audience can understand what’s going on without seeing every scene. During the course of the film Frank’s wife, wonderfully played by Brenda Blethyn, is trying to become a bus driver but keeps failing the driving test. The audience, however, never sees her drive a bus. Why? Because shots of her driving the bus, or being nervous, or running into something aren’t necessary. We see the scenes where she gets off the bus, takes her purse, walks up to the man in charge, he shakes his head…and we know. We know she failed again and as we see these scenes shot differently again, we know she failed another time, and another. It is only because the story is so well done and concentrated that this is possible. When other movies attempt the same thing, most of the time the story is spread so thinly over so many characters the genuineness doesn’t come across and we’re lost. I applaud Alex Rose, the writer, for a job well done. Another aspect that makes Clear Day such a success is the absolute strength of the actors in the film and also the variety of the actors. To be a British independent film doesn’t mean that every character is an older white man with an accent and a cup of tea in his hand. The movie is made more real and true by having characters played by Benedict Wong and Billy Boyd who each present new viewpoints and energy to Frank’s goal. On A Clear Day is fabulous at pulling the audience in and consuming them with the direction of Frank’s life and yet at the same time teaches that it’s not all about this one man alone. This is truly a story of the greatness of little successes and comes as a reminder to honor and respect them when they happen. The Disc:  Unfortunately for Clear Day the same simplicity doesn’t speak well for extras. The disc has none. I understand that this is an independent film and they probably didn’t have the biggest budget for shooting extra material or holding interviews, but it is truly disappointing to finish this film with such momentum and then find there’s nothing else to see. On the one hand, it’s fine; the movie stands so well on it’s own you don’t need anything more to “get it.” On the other, it would be nice to see interviews with the cast because they were so phenomenal, or hear the director Gaby Dellal and writer Alex Rose do an audio commentary. It would be great to know what inspired the story, where they shot the scenes, who tripped over what; those kinds of things that give an inside look. With any luck, if anything was recorded behind the scenes, one day there will be a "Clearer Day Edition." If not, it certainly is a good idea to keep an eye on Dellal and Rose to see what they do next.
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August 23rd, 2006 at 10:36
Now I haven't see On A Clear Day, but the 5 star rating warrants a bump to the top of my netflix queue. I have also sent AFI an email asking them to reevaluate their 100 greatest films of all time and maybe find a space for On A Clear Day on the list. I recommended, in my email, that they should place On A Clear Day at number 47 in between A Clockwork Orange and Taxi Driver. That way it will break up the three movies in a row from the 1970's(A clockwork Orange Taxi Driver and Jaws) and possibly add some needed "flavor" to the list. I also explained to the AFI that by adding On A Clear Day it would provide an easy way to bump Yankee Doodle Dandy off the list.
It seems as though you really took my Annapolis comment to heart and used it as an outline for this review. It is very flattering that you would read my comment which blatantly criticized you and not get mad. Instead you took something positive from it and used my criticism to better your reviews and the way you watch film. I'm very impressed Margaret Williams. It's very nice to know that a online journalist with such critical acclaim and status in the industry(reference to the phone call that Samuel L. Jackson made to you "personally" inviting you to see Snakes on a Plane) would cater/sell out for her fans so quickly.
Jim Wright (Margaret Williams fan for life)