Schemers

Based on a true story there’s a temptation to throw out the need to avoid spoilers as some of the characters if not the story will be well known maybe even passed down into legend. All I’ll say is there just wasn’t enough live footage!

Starting off with a chase down the streets of Dundee we are taken through flashback as why Davie (Conor Berry) is being pursued. It’s because he got involved with the wrong woman after a drunk night in a club and her husband returns just as he’s come to his senses, gets his clothes back on if too late. There’s a running gag here that doesn’t quite end when spying Davie playing football attacks him and breaks his leg. The ends his ambitions of a career in football though high on morphine in the hospital he starts to court nurse Shona (Tara Lee).

With little to do Davie, Scot (Sean Connor) and DJ John (Grant Robert Keelan) set about getting a disco off the ground ostensibly to impress Shona. It’s a modest success so they decide to take steps up rather than stay safe.

And they do manage to put on some of the emerging bands of the late 70’s and early 80’s cleverly shown with posters for the likes of Simple Minds, Ultravox and a fair few other familiar names, with Davie wheeling and dealing to get them. But as their success grows so they need bigger premises with that attracting the local villains who have a stranglehold on the venues.

Forced into one sided deals they are eventually out of their depth left with debts and knives at their throats. The only seemingly viable option – having tried and failed gambling what little money Davie had he placed on the horses and roulette – is to promote a concert with a band of a big enough stature to sell enough tickets to fill a medium size venue, and hopefully make a profit.

With the likes of Pink Floyd out of their league, they settle for an up and coming Heavy Metal band, Iron Maiden (with Paul Di’Anno on vocals). However booking them is one thing. The daunting reality of what they are dealing with hits them when the band’s huge truck parks up outside the venue and their band manager starts asking about the rider and where are the local roadies hired to help set up the stage and lights. Panic stations.

That is the core of the story that is threaded with Davie and Shona’s not very interesting romance with contributions from John and his wife, plus Scot and his drug taking and dealing. The latter is interesting hinting to a much darker element to all the shenanigans that’s never fully developed, in the film and only hinted on later on. Nevertheless Dave Mclean and Khaled Spiewak’s script is sharp and witty with the actors enjoying revelling in the lines.

There’s a rough and tumble about the direction of the whole thing from director Dave Mclean giving it a ragged appearance. That could be contrived to suit the appearance and atmosphere of Dundee at that time.

It works to a certain extent with the film never less than watchable though the roughish semi-likeable characters are not easy to warm to and for a film that’s all about the little guy making it against the odds is a flaw.

Schemers will be available on DVD & Digital Download from 25th January.