Keepers [Blu-ray]

The Flannan Isles Mystery was an unfamiliar one on a personal level up until fairly recently, discovered by chance on reading about ‘Borgen’s’ and ‘The Killing’s’ Søren Malling, here appearing in Scottish-staged ‘The Vanishing’. To this day essentially unresolved, the 1900 disappearance of three lighthouse keepers on these islands, sited twenty miles west of the Isle of Lewis, is a strange, strange story indeed, various theories, wild and plausible, having sprung up over time to account for what happened. Screen heavyweight Gerard Butler is joined by Peterhead’s Peter Mullan and Connor Swindells as the three mariners James Ducat, Thomas Marshall and Donald McArthur respectively, The Vanishing a dramatization based upon but not a proposed recital of what may have occurred.Any who have had the misfortune to experience an Atlantic Hebridean storm will attest that “not nice” would be gently understating the case. What Western Islers deem “a bit blowy” to us mere mortals constitutes a ferocious hoolie, memories being conjured of crossing the Minch over a festive period during a ‘lull’ leaving an indelible mark. In an age preceding mobile phones, the internet and the rest, the resultant investigation into the trio’s disappearance, triggered by a passing vessel spotting the lighthouse beacon non-functional, concluded an enormous storm, whereby iron rails were bent out of shape and a one-ton rock uplifted, saw to the lighthouse keepers’ demise. Murder is another theory having been proposed, harnessed in this particular film as matters start to go badly awry on the discovery of a wooden chest on Flannan’s shores.This in mind, The Vanishing is a grim spectacle incrementally building in seriousness from small-scale squabbles between the trio to death as a stranded Danish fisherman inexplicably attacks McArthur. McArthur of The Vanishing is the rookie of the three though it seems his real-life equivalent was a middle-aged, experienced mariner - something of a drinker and something of a brawler (though this is based on conjecture it ought to be said), incongruently reported as ‘weeping’ due to the storm which hit the isles in December 1900. Butler as Ducat and Mullan are of more traditional manly man, rough n’ gruff demeanour, Glasgow-raised Mullan shown doing what Glaswegians do as an act of belligerence (when they actually have no intention of fighting, a favourite of footballers), rubbing heads with a here young McArthur during an argument.The Vanishing is a fairly tense viewing concern, ratcheted up when two Scandinavian fisherman, portrayed by Malling and hairy Icelandic actor Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, arrive on the isles, searching for their recently killed compatriot and the missing wooden chest, the last rather implausibly containing gold bars snaffled, some might say true to form, by the Scots. Matters escalate rapidly thereafter. Unresolved business, sometimes described as ‘open loops’ in human psychology, do not sit comfortably with people, hence fascination with events like those of the Flannan Isles and, of even more localised pertinence in mainland Highland Scotland, the Renee MacRae murder mystery. Murder rates are typically low in sparsely populated rural areas of which the Highlands and Islands is certainly one, thus mysteries (and thus the success of Nordic Noir) such as those outlined become that bit more intimate, that bit more personal and that bit more exasperating. Quite apart from anything, the landscape in this part of the world, frequently dark and foreboding, compounds the sense of drama at work. Incorporating elements of mystery, neo noir, horror and disaster cinema, The Vanishing possesses that naked, naturalistic frightfulness of ‘Wicker Man’ strand, similarly and incidentally shot in Dumfries & Galloway but set in the Outer Hebrides. Having visited the Mull of Galloway, the famous, elaborate lighthouse foghorn was instantly recognisable, not to mention the area provisioning a reasonable but rather more climatically settled filming back-drop.Yet there is a distinctly hollow, cheap-skate feel to The Vanishing, perhaps attributable to sketchy character delineation. Other than Mullan’s ritual of lighting candles representing his family, little in the way of background is afforded each of the trio: inconducive to eliciting audience sympathy but in turn conducive to perpetuating mystery. All in The Vanishing’s extremely small cast are quality actors delivering expectedly refined performances but the bald truth, certainly with regard to the Scottish contingent (the Scandinavians are fictional), is not much is known about their real-life equivalents.The Vanishing is a film, however, not to be treated as a factual transmission. Were it to be the case of three mariners arriving on an isolated island, only to be wiped out by an enormous storm as in all likelihood happened in actuality, then it would prove difficult to fulfil what the Vanishing is intended for: entertainment. As is the case with the film itself, there is not a wealth of information on the event but it is well worth checking out should the reader/viewer be interested though the standard mystery lore of unfinished meals, pegged jackets and unmade beds do appear and should be approached with caution.

...loosely based on the true story of the three Eilean Mor lighthouse keepers' mysterious disappearance in 1900. Because, obviously, no one can tell what really happened to them.I love lighthouses, and I suppose like many others I romanticise them. But this film isn't pretty - it is raw and violent, dealing with the struggles of the human condition. It's a desperate story of three men: the oldest who is grieving; the youngest dealing with prejudice and therefore feeling the need to prove himself; and the happily married middle-aged man having to leave his family for several weeks on end to support them. And, that is before the troubling action starts!CONTEXT OF THE TIMES.............................................The 1900s couldn't have been an easy time anyway: under a Conservative government most people survived on low wages - just getting by on simple food and paying the basic bills such as the rent; luxuries were unheard of! - and the NHS didn't exist (not until 1948), thus people had to rely on charity to pay their health bills. Life struggles were worsened by fatal and disabling infections such as polio and TB. Life expectancy being around 45; and in children, many died under the age of 5. If the main breadwinner - always the man in this case because women weren't encouraged to work outside the home - died, then the single-mother of several children (several because contraception wasn't commonplace) had her work doubled in having to do paid work, unfairly earning a lesser wage than a man. Even though she had all those mouths to feed and bodies to clothe! Women didn't get the vote until 1918. Bear in mind that electricity and telephones weren't available then and poor people couldn't afford motorcycles or cars. So, people in the early 20th century had to cope with much loss and hardship.THE FILM / THE VANISHING...................................................We the viewer, accompany our three protagonists from the beginning of their sea journey to the isle of Saint Flannen. Thomas, the oldest, played by Peter Mullan, seems to be the main keeper who likes things organised and organised to his exact way of thinking; Gerard Butler plays James, a likeable family man who wants to give the young Donald, played by Connor Swindells, a chance. Each man has his own troubles but they get along well, duly seeing to the lighthouse duties. But when the unexpected arrival of a stranger, discovered washed up ashore lying next to his broken paddle boat and a wooden chest, the real problems begin.As I've already mentioned in the title of my review, this one is a dark and violent story, so be warned. I think considering the hard times these characters are living in we can empathise with their 'motives' - explaining it away as greed is simplistic. And the bloody extremes they go to are forced upon them. I will say no more on their behaviour because that would be giving away the film.I love the lighthouse and having a glimpse of how the Victorian era might have been in that setting - seeing how the lighthouse keepers go about their duties and life, cooking, entertaining themselves, a dog by their side. In real life these men didn't have it easy being away from their families for many weeks at a time, being apart from other people and the safety on the mainland. The acting from everyone is supreme and there is tension and questioning about what will happen to our three lighthouse keepers. The story flows well. The director, Kristoffer Nyholm, has done a great job. The violence is quite graphic but pertaining to the story - and the violent acts themselves are necessary as they concern survival. We are in awe of what is happening to three ordinary men. As we progress towards the end of the film we know there can be no happy-ending.If I can critique it, I would have liked a little more backstory on each keeper to better humanise their characters. Also to better balance the overall darkness.I recommend THE VANISHING if you are a general film fan. Don't expect your usual kind of mainstream movie with the fluffy happy-ending though!Watched the DVD version which includes a documentary on 'the making of'.

A bit slow