Stone of Destiny

In Glasgow the student Ian Hamilton is seized by an idea: to take back the stone removed from Scotland centuries earlier and installed in Westminster Abbey. He talks three friends into it. The plan is amateurish, the car is old and the stone is far heavier than expected. The subject is not theft but whether a symbol genuinely matters. Most of the adults in the film find it childish; the students argue that where an object sits has a political meaning. The film is on the students' side but lets the objection be heard. The form is light and cheerful. The heist passages are shot as comedy of incompetence rather than suspense; the stone breaks in two during the removal, and that detail actually happened. The source is the event of late 1950. Four students took the stone on Christmas night, it set off a huge search in England, and the border was closed for the first time in centuries. Hamilton later became a lawyer and wrote his own account, on which the film is based. Charlie Cox plays Hamilton, Kate Mara the woman in the group and Billy Boyd one of the friends. Robert Carlyle is also in the cast. Charles Martin Smith directs. Who it is for: viewers who like light heist films based on real events and are curious about Scottish history. Who it is not for: anyone expecting depth; the film reduces the matter to an enjoyable adventure.