In the time leading up to Jacobite rising of 1745, a young Highlander called Euan (Lewis Rae) and his father Alistair are press-ganged into the Jacobite army to fight for the Young Pretender, Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Euan's group of warriors are captured by Hanoverian loyalist troops and he is forced to join the Duke of Cumberland's army as a drummer for the British. Major Elliot (Brian Blessed), a Hanoverian officer who has lost his own son, forms a protective relationship with Euan. Father and son end up fighting on opposing sides at the Battle of Culloden (1746). Euan is killed, and Alistair runs to his aid. Seeing a Jacobite soldier standing over the body of his favourite soldier, Major Elliot kills Alistair.[2][3]
Production
The film depicts events leading up to the Battle of Culloden in 1746Fort George was used as a filming location
The budget for Chasing the Deer was limited, and in order to raise money for the production, the filmmakers crowdfunded the film by inviting individuals to invest £1000 each in the project. In return for their contributions, the 374 investors were allowed to appear in the film as extras.[4][2]
For the battle scenes, notably the depiction of the Battle of Culloden, the filmmakers engaged a Scottish battle reenactment group, the Scottish Clan Battle Society, to perform historical combat. The group also performed in other Scottish historical films such as Highlander (1985) and Braveheart (1995).[5]
Murray Pittock's critical assessment of Chasing the Deer considered that Holloway's production was influenced by Peter Watkins's 1964 film Culloden in its portrayal of the conflict as a clash between haphazard, tribal Jacobite warriors and the forces of modernity.[1]
However, Time Out contrasted Chasing the Deer unfavourably with Watkins's film for its small cast and over-reliance on a smoke machine, but singled out Brian Blessed's performance for praise.[8] Writing in the Glasgow Herald, William Russel found the script and acting style clumsy and the cinematography unimaginative and restricted. However, he also praised Brian Blessed's portrayal of Major Elliot, the choreography of the battle scenes and the choice of "stunningly beautiful" Highland locations.[2]Empire awarded the film two stars out of five, citing the low-budget production values and the use of "Tourist Board footage of lush countryside and antlered animals in order to fill gaping holes in the plot."[9]Chasing the Deer has been credited with helping to raise cultural awareness of the historical events at Culloden.[10]
^ abcdRussell, William (22 August 1994). "Culloden of high ideals?". Glasgow Herald. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
^Romano, Will (November 2014). "21. My Own Time". Prog Rock FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Rock's Most Progressive Music. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN9781617136207. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
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