On a Clear Day (2005)

66% of critics liked it
(65 reviews)
60% of users liked it
(12,202 ratings)

A middle-aged man gives himself the challenge of a lifetime in this comedy drama from the U.K. Frank (Peter Mullan) has spent most of his 55 years working the same job in the shipyards of Glasgow until he's fired after business tapers off and technology makes his position unnecessary. While Frank… More A middle-aged man gives himself the challenge of a lifetime in this comedy drama from the U.K. Frank (Peter Mullan) has spent most of his 55 years working the same job in the shipyards of Glasgow until he's fired after business tapers off and technology makes his position unnecessary. While Frank tries to put on a brave face, he has no idea of what to do next or what sort of work he should find. Frank's embarrassment gets much worse when he applies for unemployment benefits, only to discover his sister-in-law Angela (Jodhi May) is working behind the corner. As Frank's anxiety grows worse, he begins having panic attacks, leading to sympathy from his wife, Joan (Brenda Blethyn), and son, Rob (Jamie Sives), which only makes him feel more humiliated. One of Frank's few respites from his troubles are his regular visits to a nearby community swimming pool, where he does laps with his pals Eddie (Sean McGinley), Norman (Ron Cook), and Danny (Billy Boyd). One day, one of them jokes about the possibility of swimming the English Channel, which is only 21 miles across at its narrowest point near Dover. However, Frank doesn't think the idea is so silly, and begins training to make the journey; while at first his family and friends think he's gone mad, his plans give him a drive and a sense of purpose he hasn't had since losing his job. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Gaby Dellal
Written By: Alex Rose
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 7, 2006 Limited
On DVD: Jul 11, 2006
Studio: Focus Features

Critic Reviews

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
The recycled spectacle of yet another downsized U.K. working-class type being reduced to an act of feel-good against-all-odds crowd-pleasing redemption.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
The wonder here, if not the redemption, is that so many toil so hard to make this saccharine stuff palatable.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
... despite its familiarity, it works, mostly on the strength of a fine performance by the Scottish actor Peter Mullan.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Clear Day isn't terribly engaging.
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
A lesser film, kindhearted, a wee bit weepy and a wee bit trite.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Nothing in On a Clear Day is especially compelling. The movie doesn't dig deep enough.
Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
A satisfying 92 minutes.
Eric D. Snider, EricDSnider.com
There is much warmth and reconciliation in the final act, indicative of the movie's goodheartedness.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
There's an audience for this sort of mush, but don't count me in the mix.
Peter Sobczynski, eFilmCritic.com
On a Clear Day isn't so much a bad film as it is a thoroughly familiar and unnecessary one.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
One thing that sets On a Clear Day apart from other, like-minded films -- besides its spectacular Scottish location footage -- is the first-rate cast.
Angela Baldassarre, Sympatico.ca
Unlike my colleagues, I wiped my eyes instead of rolling them, and I'm hoping you will too. Worth seeing indeed.
Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
Flawed by moments of sitcom humour, On A Clear Day still manages to tell an engaging story about men, work and friendship.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Fans of Mullan's more intense work will find this soft and all-too maudlin.
John Hartl, Seattle Times
The movie reaches for an emotional climax that is simply beyond the filmmakers' grasp.
David Elliott, San Diego Union-Tribune
The social, economic and personal stresses don't seem very surely addressed by the big swim.
Mike Russell, Oregonian
Mullan makes the journey more than worthwhile, but don't go in expecting profundity.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

This film should have continued with the bleakness that it displayed in the first 5 minutes because it soon descended into stupid comedy which, inevitably, turns it into a 'This year?s Full Monty' film. I thought the direction was very good. The mood in the first few scenes… More
This film should have continued with the bleakness that it displayed in the first 5 minutes because it soon descended into stupid comedy which, inevitably, turns it into a 'This year?s Full Monty' film. I thought the direction was very good. The mood in the first few scenes made me expect a gritty drama, it was very well handled and should have been continuous. Peter Mullan is a great actor, hugely underrated, he's one of the finest actors in the world and he carries this film till the bitter end. The supporting cast is varied. It has Ron Cook and Sean McGinley, two great actors, with no great script for them to get stuck into which really is a waste of their talents. Brenda Blethyn is ok but I'm not a huge fan of hers as I believe she hams up most of her performances and indulges in a bit of over acting, I believe her various awards have gone to her head. Jamie Sives heads the rest of the talentless cast (although Wong was harmless and I quite like him) but for me, and one of the reasons I got annoyed with this film, was because of the inclusion of pointless character number one, played by Billy Boyd. He's not funny and he made a mockery of a very real subject that effects a lot of people. Why was he in this? I think it just shows that this film wasn't sure of its direction, what its meaning was going to be. A real shame and wasted opportunity. I've said it before and I'll say it again, The Full Monty has a lot to answer for! Mullan and Dellal carry this film but I wouldn't bother if I were you, watch My Name is Joe instead!
Ross C

Laid off Glasgow dock worker tries to find some meaning to his life by swimming the English channel. It's a fairly light, British chum drama that will comfortably fill a spare hour and a half. I found the subplot a rather vague, unnecessary distraction and not all the acting was… More
Laid off Glasgow dock worker tries to find some meaning to his life by swimming the English channel. It's a fairly light, British chum drama that will comfortably fill a spare hour and a half. I found the subplot a rather vague, unnecessary distraction and not all the acting was first class.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"On a Clear Day" starts with Frank(Peter Mullan) being made redundant after working thirty-six years at the shipyards. For him, work is everything and is at a loss what to do next, looking for a new job not coming easy. The only hobby he enjoys is… More
[font=Century Gothic]"On a Clear Day" starts with Frank(Peter Mullan) being made redundant after working thirty-six years at the shipyards. For him, work is everything and is at a loss what to do next, looking for a new job not coming easy. The only hobby he enjoys is swimming at the pool with his pals. Suddenly he has a goal in life - to swim the English Channel.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]Meanwhile, his wife, Joan(Brenda Blethyn), is secretly learning how to drive a bus...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"On a Clear Day" is a nice pleasant movie about masculinity, the generation gap and trying to find a purpose in life in middle age.(Frank has always supported his family but that may change now that his wife is looking for work outside the home. His son is comfortable taking care of his kids while his wife works at a job center.) But the movie is rather routine, resembling other crowd pleasing movies that center on the working class without seriously discussing politics; the best of which was "Brassed Off." The movie has more than enough silliness and amateur psychology to go around. What makes it all worthwhile is Peter Mullan's magnificient performance capturing all the nuances of his character's conflicting emotions perfectly. [/font]