Heavenly Pursuits (1986)

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Cynical schoolteacher Tom Conti (as Vic Mathews) works at the "Blessed Edith Semple" school in hard-headed Glasgow, Scotland. Mr. Conti teaches learning-disabled students, like Ewen Bremner (as Stevie Deans). The boy/girl integrated Catholic school is trying to obtain "Sainthood" from the Vatican for its namesake, who has one documented miracle to her credit; "Edith Semple" cured a girl's blindness. Combed-over Brian Pettifer (as Father Cobb) is trying to find two more miracles in the kind woman's past. Music teacher Helen Mirren (as Ruth Chancellor) shows off her hourglass figure. Although he's not much of a believer, Conti should get ready to reevaluate his belief in miracles - because he's about to unwittingly perform them! ***** Heavenly Pursuits (9/3/87) Charles Gormley ~ Tom Conti, Helen Mirren, Ewen Bremner, David Hayman

My TV guide described this as a movie about a man who acquires miraculous powers and losing a brain tumor after a fall from a roof. Well, that's enough to make the heart of any normal human being sink. I could see it now -- the uplifted eyes, the heavenly choirs, the tears of despair and gratitude, the uplifting message -- "For those who believe, no proof is necessary," and so forth.Actually -- almost miraculously -- it wasn't like that at all. It's a mostly light-hearted treatment of some unexplainable stuff that happens in the life of a schlubby, calf-eyed teacher in a school for special children in Glasgow.Richard Conti is the teacher, a nice-enough guy who is modest and goes along with the flow. He's not religious, although the school is run by Catholics. He's attracted to the school's music teacher, Helen Mirren. They're an interestingly mismatched couple. He's of no more than medium height, dark, droopy of features, and appears constantly slouched and moderate in every respect. She's blonde, vivacious, thymotic, moves from place to place quickly, has a long face with a soft nose and keen, perceptive eyes.The TV guide was more or less right. He does fall from a roof, he loses a brain tumor, and strange things happen around him. But the description has the order wrong. First, some minor strange things happen. Instance: a record player that continues to run after she shuts the power off. Next, he's waiting at a bus stop, rolls his eyes without warning, and drops to the pavement. The hospital discovers a lethal brain tumor but tell him nothing since it's too late.Next, he does fall from a roof while trying to rescue a frightened student, and falls more than 40 feet to the ground. A tree breaks his fall and he winds up with no more than a slight tear in his shirt and minor bruises. He's brought to the hospital again and X-rayed. The docs discover that the tumor has disappeared. "Tumors do remit," says the doc. Then Conti discovers that he can race through the city and all the red lights change to green just as he enters the intersections. One of his students, who could not walk, can now walk. The performance of others improve dramatically. Now, here's the kind of thing I appreciate, that prompts me to believe the movie has an adult audience in mind. The kid that finds herself able to walk does it off screen. We are spared the sight of poor little Alice MacKenzie standing up, dropping her crutches, and wobbling a few feet towards some guy who is calling out, "WALK, Alice, you can DO it!" I sobbed with relief. I groveled in gratitude.The second half of the movie drags a bit, I thought, as the newspapers get hold of events and begins giving Conti and the other staff members the tabloid treatment. There were time when I wished the story could have been given the old Ealing Studios treatment, which would have pepped things up with its iconoclasticism. Miracles? Bloody hell.The film was shot in Glasgow, which looks a lot more civilized than when I was there. I noticed a couple of Maxwells in the cast and crew and wonder if any are distant relatives, my Grand Daddy having been a bobby on the police force there. But I haven't been in Scotland in years. I wonder if Edinburgh still has that old stony castle on top of the hill, and if Ullapool has changed its name to something more dignified.Anyway, if your TV guide makes this sound like an Afterschool Special, ignore it and watch the movie anyway. It's pretty good.

A sweet, small-scale movie, rarely shown and only available in a deleted full screen PAL VHS edition at present, this film was screened on Scottish TV on 19 April 2009 in widescreen. It's quite grainy and the sound isn't exactly DTS quality but the story's good and the performances are universally good. It's Conti's film and his acting is almost invisible - I hope that's a compliment - whilst Mirren is an excellent foil to him; their relationship is not uncomplicated and consequently very real. Glasgow is shown in its all its pre "...Miles Better" glory with tower blocks and grime to the fore with a 14 year old Ewen Bremner in a key role as underachiever Stevie Deans. A sad sign of our times is that the innocent and friendly physical contact between teacher and pupil seen in 1986 would no longer be tolerated in 2009. Has Blessed Edith Semple School been granted its longed-for miracles or is Vic simply a great teacher triumphing in difficult circumstances? You decide.

I enjoy movies with British settings. While I prefer SAVING GRACE to this movie this one is more believable. Conti has a way of linking the ordinary with the extraordinary which gives the movie realism and depth. I would like to see it again but I lent this video out to someone several years ago and can't remember who!