{"id":221,"date":"2006-03-22T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-03-22T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/2006\/03\/on-a-clear-day-baptism-in-cold.html"},"modified":"2006-03-22T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-03-22T12:00:00","slug":"on-a-clear-day-baptism-in-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2006\/03\/on-a-clear-day-baptism-in-cold.html","title":{"rendered":"“On a Clear Day”: Baptism in Cold Water"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

When I saw the title of the film “On a Clear Day<\/a>,” my first impulse was to complete the old phrase–“you can see forever.” But this movie isn’t about seeing forever; it’s a small, intimate look at ordinary people who deal with forces much larger than themselves. Frank (Peter Mullan) is a lifelong factory worker who has recently lost his job, he\u2019s estranged from his adult son, and he\u2019s listless in his marriage to wife Joan (Brenda Blethyn). So, to combat his boredom and depression in forced retirement, he comes up with the idea of swimming the English Channel.<\/p>\n

Immediately, I\u2019m thinking of other British working-class-triumph films like \u201cBilly Elliot\u201d and \u201cThe Full Monty.\u201d Sure enough, once the movie starts, the other staples of this genre begin to appear. There\u2019s the motley cast of friends, including the lifelong best buddy, the out-of-place foreigner (here, a Chinese shopowner who rarely speaks but is secretly wise), and the young ne\u2019er-do-well who just wants to fit in (\u201cLord of the Rings\u201d alum Billy Boyd). There\u2019s the wife who keeps a secret from her husband, although it\u2019s a pretty tame one–she\u2019s taking classes to get her license as a city bus driver. In true spiritual fashion, she has to take the test three times before passing.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re watching Frank go through a grueling training process or watching as he tries in vain to have a conversation with his son (a stay-at-home-dad who thinks his father is ashamed of him), you\u2019re always hoping he succeeds. Peter Mullan wisely doesn\u2019t play Frank like a hero. Frank makes mistakes and often mistreats the people around him. His goal of swimming the Channel is also a way for other characters to make life changes of their own, whether it\u2019s rekindling a marriage or standing up to discrimination.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a Clear Day\u201d is a feel-good movie and isn\u2019t the least bit embarrassed about it. Gaby Dellal\u2019s direction is straightforward up until the very end of the film when she lets symbolism go a little bit too far. The most agonizing plot detail–that Frank and Joan had another son who drowned as a child–is never given the proper emotional levity. It\u2019s used as a hamfisted device to explain first Frank\u2019s motivation for swimming and second his disconnection from surviving son Rob.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a Clear Day\u201d is at its cinematic and spiritual best as a film about rebirth. The role of water in the story is multifold. The denouement of Frank and Rob\u2019s argument with each other comes when Rob jumps into a pool with all his clothes on. Frank\u2019s redemption is also found in water–the cold, black water of the Channel–as his family stands on the French shore hoping he makes it across. There are some beautiful shots of Frank alone in the water, his arms and legs moving in time. It\u2019s a shame the film can\u2019t just let Frank swim in peace, because the story would be much more powerful if he could.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I saw the title of the film “On a Clear Day,” my first impulse was to complete the old phrase–“you can see forever.” But this movie isn’t about seeing forever; it’s a small, intimate look at ordinary people who deal with forces much larger than themselves. Frank (Peter Mullan) is a lifelong factory worker…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":287,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n"On a Clear Day": Baptism in Cold Water<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2006\/03\/on-a-clear-day-baptism-in-cold.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""On a Clear Day": Baptism in Cold Water\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I saw the title of the film “On a Clear Day,” my first impulse was to complete the old phrase–“you can see forever.” But this movie isn’t about seeing forever; it’s a small, intimate look at ordinary people who deal with forces much larger than themselves. 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