I have come to greatly appreciate the films of Bill Forsyth, and I suspect Peter Capaldi is also a fan. At least, that is what I found myself thinking in the first ten minutes or so of 1992’s Soft Top Hard Shoulder, a movie Capaldi both wrote and starred in.
In an opening montage, we learn about the main character’s first Scottish ancestor, an immigrant from Italy who had been deceived into thinking he was going to America. Given Capaldi’s own Scotch-Italian ancestry, there are obviously some autobiographical elements at play. Of course, it is good to write what you know. Then there’s Capaldi’s background in graphic design, which is mirrored by his character’s interest in art.
Fleeing Glasgow for London, he finds little interest in the children’s book he is shopping around to publishers. Admittedly, it may not be a great idea to have the hero of that story eat the severed foot of his mother, and one can relate to one publisher’s dismay. Still, she says he may have some greatness ahead of him, as he reminds her of the author of what is now the greatest selling children’s series in the UK, an artist she says “was also a great failure”.
He is down to selling his prized camera to cover rent when his uncle (Richard Wilson) unexpectedly drops in. Wilson had been in the city for some sort of Ice Cream industry awards show, an event which sounds gloriously absurd. But then, the family business is running an ice cream empire, which immediately brought to my mind the rival factions in the same line of business in Forsyth’s Comfort and Joy.
The uncle also mentions him that weekend will be the 60th birthday of Capaldi’s father. I like Wilson’s reply to the nephew’s claim this was too short of notice: “It’s been in the cards for 60 years”. Failure to appear at the celebration will have serious consequences, as Capaldi will be cut out of his share of the inheritance of the family fortune.
That this is the real motivation for Capaldi to make the eight-hour drive home is the first indication our hero is a deeply flawed person. In addition to his greed, he has major issues with his temper, and is almost always at a boiling point. It is no surprise he is also rather uncharitable. In general, he is not a person I would particularly care to know, and it depresses me how much I am like him.
Like me, he will find a woman who will start him on the course to becoming a better person, though he is slow to realize an amazing person has entered his life by accident. It is while taking a smoke break on the side of the road that he finally seems to notice the hitchhiker right in front of his car. Elaine Collins needs to ride to Glasgow, yet is holding a sign that reads “GLASG”, because she ran out of ink. Instead of offering a ride, he only lends her a pen with which she can finish the sign lettering. Then his car won’t start and she miraculously uses the same pen to fix the issue. And yet, he still doesn’t offer her a ride. He even asks for his pen back.
Their paths will cross again at a sad roadside café where finally does offer her a ride. Alas, he failed to notice his wallet had fallen out of his pocket there, so I guess karma still wasn’t though with him. When this is finally discovered, it is she who has the brilliant idea to phone somebody to ask for money. That call doesn’t go through, but he finds a stranger’s American Express card stuck to the bottom of his shoe. He, of course, immediately starts trying to forge the signature on the back of the card, feebly trying to convince her handwriting analysis is one of his hobbies. She will wear him down to finally do the right thing.
The road to Glasgow will be far from straight-forward, with much of it traveled on foot or in such vehicles as a van full of farting, chain-smoking Scotsmen. Some parts of the journey will even go back the way they came. One particularly memorable bit has the truck towing his repaired car go right past them, as it will be delivered to whomever footed the repair bill—which would be the uncle in this case.
All the while, Capaldi bitches and whines. He doesn’t throw many tantrums, but one he does over a bank closed on a Saturday is as spectacular as one of John Cleese’s blow-ups on Fawlty Towers. Still, Collins tries to be pragmatic and cheerful. That these two are married in real-life makes one wonders about their real-life personalities and the dynamics of their relationship.
There is one odd recurring gag I want to single out and that is the great many signs shown with the caption “we care” at the bottom. I don’t know if this was in reference to a similar campaign in real-life at the time, but the phrase becomes more tinged with sarcasm each time we see it.
I don’t want to oversell Soft Top Hard Shoulder, but I liked it overall. This, despite Capaldi being a rather off-putting character who I am not sure I fully believed is capable of redemption. But if there is somebody who can help him to get there, it is Collins. Overall, there is a general vibe akin to Forsyth’s work, with pleasant little touches like what must be the world’s shortest hitchhike, a ride so short they might as we have gone door-to-door, hitching a series of rides only to each consecutive residence.
Dir: Stefan Schwartz
Starring Peter Capaldi, Elaine Collins
Watched on Plumeria Pictures UK blu-ray