Directed by: Michael Caton-Jones
Starring: Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, Tim Roth, John Hurt, Andrew Keir, Eric Stoltz, Brian Cox, Brian McCardle, Gilbert Martin
The real Robert Roy MacGregor was an outlaw and more controversial than the noble and true hero depicted here, but that's the way of movies sometimes. Braveheart turned William Wallace into a legend and Robert the Bruce into a moronic puppet, when in reality, Robert the Bruce was heroic and Wallace but a footnote in Scottish history. True stories aside, Rob Roy is an engrossing action thriller with tall, principled hero Robert Roy MacGregor (Neeson) running afoul of greedy, amoral aristocrat Marquis of Montrose (Hurt) to whom Robert owes one thousand pounds.
Robert's initial plan was to borrow one thousand pounds from the Marquis to fatten his cattle and sell them for a profit. The word of the loan reaches the deceitful Killearn (Cox), who informs the Marquis' broke nephew Archibald Cunningham (Roth) in hopes that the desperate Cunningham would steal the money. Cunningham waylays Robert's representative and friend McDonald (Stoltz) as McDonald is returning to Robert's home with the money. Robert is now penniless and goes to the Marquis for an extension or a resolution to the issue. The Marquis wants Robert to falsely denounce the Marquis' enemy Duke of Argyll (Keir) as a Jacobite, or a supporter of the deposed King James. Robert refuses to bear false witness, and after resisting arrest, is now on the run in the Scottish Highlands from Cunningham and the Redcoats.
Cunningham is one of the most loathsome, devious, and cunning villains I've ever seen, and I'm not prone to hyperbole. He makes someone like the Marquis seem civilized by comparison. His list of offenses including destroying Robert's property, impregnating one of the Marquis' staff and coldly dumping her, and then raping Robert's loyal, strong wife Mary (Lange) with the attitude that it's all in a day's work. Tim Roth, Oscar-nominated for his role as Cunningham, can barely conceal his glee as the ruthless swordsman, the antithesis of Rob Roy.
Rob Roy is propped up by its dastardly villains and its tried-and-true good vs. evil story. The movie ends with a sword duel between Rob Roy and Cunningham which is not only expertly choreographed, but a study in characters and personalities. Rob Roy chooses a heavy broadsword which fatigues him to carry especially as Cunningham is slicing him up with the rapier, but all he wants is one shot with the sword to end the showoff Cunningham.
Rob Roy is more than costume drama and swordplay, but a study in opposites and people we care about. As stated at the top, it is involving, and when the final battle occurs, it isn't simply mindless violence, but a fight in which we feel the stakes.
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