This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling.(November 2023) |
The Road Dance | |
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Directed by | Richie Adams |
Written by | John MacKay and Richie Adams |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Petra Korner |
Edited by | Matt Mayer |
Music by | Carlos Jose Alvarez |
Production company | Sheridan Road Productions |
Distributed by | Music Box Films (US, 2023) Parkland Entertainment (Ireland, 2022) Parkland Entertainment (UK, 2022) |
Release date |
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Countries | Scotland, United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | $381,680 [1] [2] |
The Road Dance is a 2022 film written by Richie Adams and John MacKay. The film is based on a book by the same name, also written by MacKay. The film is set in the early years of World War I on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.
Kirsty is a young woman who lives in Garenin with her widowed mother Mairi and sister Annie. She desperately wants to go to America with her boyfriend Murdo, but these plans are derailed when he and other young men are called up for service in The Great War. The town holds a cèilidh to honor them before they leave the following day, however later that night Kirsty is attacked by an unknown assailant. A subsequent examination by the village doctor Maclean shows that she was raped.
As time passes, Kirsty discovers that the rape resulted in a pregnancy and tries to hide it from everyone. She eventually tells her sister and mother, particularly after learning that Murdo is dead. Kirsty gives birth prematurely and the baby dies soon after. Overcome by her grief and the memories of the rape, Kirsty tries to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff but is rescued by her mother.
The baby's body is discovered on the beach the following day. Police Constable McRae is brought in to investigate. He orders Maclean to examine Kirsty's body after learning that she could be the mother, however Maclean lies on her behalf. McRae orders a second examination from another doctor, who concurs and adds that Kirsty is a virgin. Kirsty realizes that her assailant is Maclean and confronts him; he commits suicide after she leaves. McRae discovers that the second physician examined Annie, not Kirsty. He confronts the family but reluctantly chooses to let the matter go after learning of the rape.
A year passes and Kirsty leaves to live with her uncle in America. She is reunited with Murdo, who was revealed to have been held as a prisoner of war in Germany.
Jim Kreutzer had read the book The Road Dance by journalist and author John Mackay and was looking for a project outside of the US. Mackay had already written a script based on the book but Kreutzer thought it was too dark. Producers Kreutzer and MaryIlene Blondell worked tirelessly to develop and bring this epic story to the big screen. [3]
Filming began in October 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and was filmed on location at Gearrannan Blackhouse Village (a restored village) near Carloway on the Isle of Lewis. [4] [5]
The film was premiered at the 2021 Edinburgh International Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Film. [6] The film was released on 20 May 2022. [7]
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 30 critics' reviews were positive with an average score of 6.80/10. [8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave the film a mixed score of 54, based on 7 reviews. [9]
The Guardian review gave the film 3/5 stars, stating "Although a little too performatively Scottish at times, this is a competently made weepie that should please fans of the book." [10] The Sydney Morning Herald gave the film 3.5/5 stars and praised the filming locations and the strong cast. [11] The Irish Times gave the film 3/5 stars. They praised the acting and production but compared the story to an afternoon movie along the lines of a Catherine Cookson novel. [12]
The Road Dance premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival (2021) where it won the Audience Award for Best film. The film won the jury prize for best feature at the Manchester International Film Festival. Internationally, the film won the audience choice award for best feature drama at the Sedona International Film Festival. [13]
The Hebrides are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrides.
Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles (Scottish Gaelic: Triath nan Eilean or Rìgh Innse Gall; Latin: Dominus Insularum) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title was held by a series of his descendants, the Norse-Gaelic rulers of the Isle of Man and Argyll and the islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages. They wielded sea-power with fleets of galleys (birlinns). Although they were, at times, nominal vassals of the kings of Norway, Ireland, or Scotland, the island chiefs remained functionally independent for many centuries. Their territory included much of Argyll, the Isles of Arran, Bute, Islay, the Isle of Man, Hebrides, Knoydart, Ardnamurchan, and the Kintyre peninsula. At their height they were the greatest landowners and most powerful lords after the kings of England and Scotland.
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John MacKay is a Scottish broadcast journalist, television presenter, producer and writer. He currently is a co-anchor for the STV News at Six, alongside Kelly Ann Woodland, having previously served as the chief anchor for the West Central Scotland edition of STV News at Six. MacKay is a presenter for current affairs programme Scotland Tonight.
Malcolm Macleod BEM was a crofter who notably built Calum's Road on the Island of Raasay, Scotland. He was Local Assistant Keeper of Rona Lighthouse and the part-time postman for the north end of Raasay.
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