MovieChat Forums > Local Hero (1983) Discussion > So Mac was willing to....(SPOILERS)

So Mac was willing to....(SPOILERS)

posted 15 years ago by Sea-Bass
13 replies | jump to latest

...sell the villagers out right until the end?

Maybe I've got this wrong, or I missed a key part of the narrative, but it seems to me that Mac was fully committed to the original plan of turning the village into the oil refinery/plant right up until Burt Lancaster showed up. He never had the crisis of conscience that I was expecting and it was in fact Burt that changed his mind and saw sense. Am I right? And if so, why is Mac not percieved as a complete an utter shyster?

Please tell me I missed a bit!

[–] Aberdeenfortheolympics 15 years ago

Mac certainly seemed committed to making the deal but there was definitely a sense of conflict too, he offered to swap lives with Urquhart true he was pissed at the time but he did seem to want to move to Ferness, it may not have been the crisis of conscience you were thinking might come but he did seem to me at least to be wavering a bit.

If you are reading this you probably complained last time you read it

[–] BoxOfficePoison 15 years ago

An '80s movie yuppie like Mac might never have a crisis of conscience, as such, but there are hints throughout the movie of the gradual conversion in his attitude, such as his dressing more and more casually, leaving his alarm watch on the beach, etc.

[–] johnston.scot 15 years ago

Bacause Mac is a character who actually lives in the real world.

Well, not actually ... but in a reasonable facsimile of it, if only at the very end of the movie.

[–] murph24 15 years ago

So Mac was willing to sell the villagers out right until the end?

Well, Mac wasn't really going to "sell the villagers out" - they were all going to get a large cash settlement and were very happy about it. But Mac was clearly conflicted about seeing Ferness turned into an oil refinery, as we can see at the ceilidh (and the day after). Victor even tries to cheer him up, telling him he's made the villagers happy and given them a chance at a new life; he even reminds Mac that "You can't eat scenery." But Mac obviously has misgivings.

So, no - his behavior is definitely not that of a "shyster." If anything, Mac shows that he's got quite a heart (which wasn't apparent at the beginning of the film).

[–] Piers1 15 years ago

I too was going to mention Victor's assurance to Mac at the ceilidh. But on reflection the villagers were never at starvation levels and their ambitions were shallow and materialistic, vide, their plans for spending the money was on luxury possessions such as Maseratis, etc.

Having watched this film again last night, I also got the sense that it now has taken on a powerful resonance in the light of the ecological catastrophe threatening the Louisiana wetlands.

"Don't Trust the Heart - It Wants Your Blood."

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Blu765 15 years ago

My mind kept drifting to the terrible situation down in the gulf while watching this too (I think it's the worst disaster to happen in my lifetime). I'd like to think if this film happened now, the townspeople would reject their offer outright.

Oh, I don't know.
If I was offered enough money for me and my next generation to live comfortably to move from my land, I would take it without much reservation. I would, of course, feel disappointed and a saddened in principle if an ecological disaster somehow befell that land, but I would still have very few regrets.

Admittedly, the the amount of money I would get helps make that decision for me. Knowing that my children will not have money worries is important to me.

[–] Blu765 15 years ago

As I said on another thread, Mac never has the "Aha!" moment that we are all used to in a film. Instead, he gradually comes to the realization (and not until the very end of the film) that he wants to live among those townsfolk again and in the manner that they have been living.

And (again, as I said in the other thread), the fact that they didn't simply SHOW us Mac's conversion, but rather made us gradually EXPERIENCE Mac's conversion, along with Mac himself, by immersing us into this town in a quiet not-much-action-happening sort of way

THAT is the strength of the film. The film happens upon us so quietly that we (nor Mac) never notice when we feel that we (like Mac) want to move back to Ferness.

We just aren't shown this plot point, we come to live this plot point.

[–] TriumphReq 15 years ago

I think it was more along the lines is he was upset that most of the work and time he had spent was a total waste and that he was getting kicked out.
But you have to remember it was Mac who saved the place. If it weren't for his own fascination with the sky and his phoning back and telling Happer the details about it, Happer would never have come to visit.
If another guy had done it they would have been cold and calculating and offered the original $60 million and be done with it. They might even have kicked Ben off the beach as a "homeless" man. We learn all kinds of lessons about ourselves from this movie. That's one of the lessons, that some people choose to live in nature as that is where we all once were. We also learn how insane our money driven society is.

Mac didn't just save the place he found himself which travel often inevitably does for everyone. We watch him transform from a Telex and Electronics man coming from Houston where people are rude to and cold shoulder him into finding his humanity again. He started off with digital watches and ended up wading barefoot in the tidal pools.

[–] BoxOfficePoison 15 years ago

I'm not sure I agree with you, but you do have an interesting take on Mac's character. Thanks.

[–] skohl632001 14 years ago

All Mac was doing was acting as a middleman in the sale. He might've started to feel badly about what was going to happent to the place but he also realized that, ultimately, he had no real control over anything. If he didn't set up the sale, someone else would.
Also, remember, Mac was set up as being a passionate believer in the oil business. I don't think he ever looked at what he was doing as dishonest or unethical.

[–] BillK-5 14 years ago

Mac felt bad about it but ultimately he wasn't doing anything "wrong"; it was the villagers who wanted to sell.

Recall Victor's observations that it was a hard life for the locals, that the villagers had a right to make what they could of the place and that "you can't eat scenery."

[–] SoaringhighPV 14 years ago

I love the line "you can't eat scenery" but it's actually completely inaccurate.

Tourism is the mainstay of many local economies. In the Highlands & Islands of Scotland alone tourism brings about £750 million a year into the local economy. And what do the tourists mainly come for? Not the midges that's for sure. Nor the snorkelling. Maybe some for the single malts, some for their heritage. But on the whole it's because it's one of the most beautiful & unspoilt places on earth.

So yes, you can eat scenery!

Of course, there's a real resonance with what has been happening in real life in County Mayo, western Ireland in recent years, brilliantly portrayed in the documentary film The Pipe: www.imdb.com/title/tt1674204/
Without a shadow of doubt Local Hero is my all-time favourite film & soundtrack but the Pipe shows a real life & consequently far more depressing & anger-inducing situation.