Schemers - EIFF 2019

A big success at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, where it received its World Premiere, SCHEMERS is set in Dundee, Scotland, in the late 1970’s and is based on writer/producer/director David McLean’s early years in the fickle music biz.

Dundee, Scotland, in the late 1970’s: young Davie (Conor Berry) tries very hard to avoid an ordinary life full of conformities and, worse still, a dead end job that may see him stuck in a 9-5 office job or, worse still, a 9-5 factory job or, worse still… the possibilities of a disappointing life are well and truly endless! Luckily, our anti-hero is a bit of a dreamer and never too shy to explore new avenues come what may. Having decided on a career in football his latest dreams comes to a sudden and abrupt end courtesy of an injury on the football field. At least he gets to meet attractive trainee nurse Shona (Tara Lee) while in hospital – an encounter that eventually will lead to more romantic things – but that’s about it. After Davie’s recovery it’s back to his dreary daily life in a council flat he shares with Mom and Dad – joyless buildings known as ‘Schemes’ filled with crime and desolation. But Davie won’t give up just yet although a university degree seems out of the question. Initially, his next plan (or dream) is traveling to Cambodia to offer his humanitarian support after it had emerged that the Khmer Rouge regime had killed more than a million people… but Cambodia is far away and who knows, perhaps another opportunity closer to home might just lurk round the corner?

Before you can say Pol-Pot our music-mad Davie embarks on his next scheme, this time round he hopes to earn quick money by running discos, in particular shacks where he can be DJ and play all his fave records (many of the them punk and underground music). Together with his two pals John (Grant Robert Keelan), who’s pretty business savvy, and the slightly more dubious Scot (Sean Connor), the trio set out to conquer Dundee’s alternative night club scene but reality soon kicks in when the lads come to realise that hiring out venues costs money – something they don’t have. Soon Davie’s attempts to get the necessary cash by means of gambling spectacularly backfires and just when you think that things can’t get worse they do as local gangster Fergie (Alastair Thomson Mills) and his equally nasty mates put ever more pressure on Davie to pay back spiralling debts. Not one for being intimidated easily, Davie carries on booking bands regardless and hopes that his final coup d’état will get him out of his financial quagmire while further his career as a bona fide ‘tour promoter’. Thus, after several laborious phone calls to London (absolute riotous scene) he convinces some corporate big-wig that Iron Maiden (yes, THE Iron Maiden!) will benefit from a concert in Dundee – with the London executive initially not even knowing where Dundee actually is. The deal is done and preps are in full swing but as Davie once again is soon to find out he really doesn’t have a clue when it comes to looking after big acts. In fact he doesn’t even know that there are such perks as ‘riders’ with band and entourage demanding gourmet food and drinks ready for when they arrive. Will Davie’s parents jump to his rescue yet again?

Writer/Producer/Director David McLean invites us to a trip down memory lane, in particular his own memories charting his early years in the Dundee music business. These days, McLean (managing director at Riverman Group) is of course best known for managing English super rockband Placebo among others but if his early ambitions in Dundee are anything to go by he’s come a long way. Ironically, Placebo frontman Brian Molko also lived in Dundee for some time during his childhood. Edinburgh-born actor Conor Berry portrays young Davie with the right mix of naïve enthusiasm and hard-core determination (which in his case certainly paid off), amply supported by an equally enthusiastic cast. This little movie, dealing with youth culture of the day and the sometimes dangerous business of music promotion deserves the same ‘cult’ status as that other brilliant Scottish film – Trainspotting, complete with occasionally indecipherable Scots accents. Great attention has been given to re-create that that typical 70’s vibe using the right amount of grit and glam – and a soundtrack to die for. Did I hear ‘Holiday in Cambodia’ by the Dead Kennedys? Cleary David McLean has a mischievous sense of humour!

Let’s hope that SCHEMERS will find it’s way into cinemas nationwide or at the very least get a DVD release.

(Please read our interview with director David McLean and main actor Conor Berry in our ‘Interviews’ section).