An endearing everyman movie with a UK setting. Frank, a traditionalist, would rather leave than kowtow to the new management. After 36 years of work he is at odds what to do with himself. He can't communicate his emotions to his wife, he barely expresses his feelings to his chums, and he struggles with his relationship with his son. Woven through this is the 23 year old tragedy of losing his other son to a drowning, which has haunted him all these years. Frank finds a way to redeem his self-esteem and that is to swim the English Channel. The movie weaves this main plot in with several sub-plots and it all works well. Indie movies are brave enough to portray real characters with plausible dialog. A tremendously capable cast with the talents of Billy Boyd (Pippin) as the comic relief, and Brenda Blethyn (Pride and Prejudice) as the stalwart wife, plus the wide array of minor characters, blend to create a thoroughly enjoyable family movie. Some of the lines with Billy Boyd are laugh out loud hilarious.

i was so impressed by this movie and decided to watch it several times. i really loved billy Boyd's character of Danny, he was able to bring a sense of humor into this movie, all the characters were unforgettable and the story itself was very inspiring and touching..this movie was a delight to watch and you pulling for for the main character to cross the channel..i loved that the wife kept trying to pass her test to drive the bus, showing her strength as well. one of my favorite scenes was when Danny thought he could drive the boat, he handled the whole thing extremely well..i hope to see more of these kind of movies in future..they are family oriented and i love that, more of the human feelings without any of the filth so evident in most movies today thank you for a well done movie and the inspiration it was to me.

Unless one has experienced the bone chilling cold of Scotland's waterways, around 40 degrees Fahrenheit even in summer) the rigorous training of the aspiring Channel swimmer in this film cannot be appreciated. Scotland is a beautiful land filled with warm hearted people, but it is always COLD and very, very windy. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the story, and the characterizations of the very real Glaswegians. As I watched this on HBO I was able to follow the subtitles, but having lived in Scotland, the accent was music to my ears.The man who had spent 36 years in the shipyards, expecting to retire there, is suddenly confronted with the unthinkable - unemployment. Not only is he robbed of his self esteem, he no longer a breadwinner, but he has a lot of time to think and not necessarily of things that he wants to remember. His job had been his life - all he had to do was show up for work every day. He and his wife had settled into a cordial routine where they lived together in a marriage that had long since become a habit. They no longer had any real communication. She does not tell him that she is learning to drive a double decker bus (in high heals no less) and he doesn't tell her that he is planning to swim the channel "what channel?" Thanks to the social security system and National Health Service, being laid off from one's job in Britain does not the potential for financial disaster that it has in the US, but it is still an unpleasant experience to find oneself discarded in mid-life, hence the need to "do" something memorable.The performances all round are excellent, especially Benjamin Wong who was right on target as the Chinese chippy who no one realized could speak English. When he did, it was with a Glasgow accent. Each man starts to build up his own self-esteem and stand up for himself.

This movie, On a Clear Day, was the movie that my mother has been working on for two years. Her name is Dorothy Berwin and she is the producer of this fable. I have met all the characters and have enjoyed learning about how actors get into their characters. Frank does an especially good job at creating a realistic setting. This movie shows that anything is possible and I believe that it is not only the story of swimming the channel, but of relationships within the family. Overall, I have come to the conclusion that you stick with your own problems, and that this movie is a role model for all family situations. Next, I would like to say that this might not be the most commercial movie, but think about it this way; if we always had the same types of movies, none of our views would change and people would not make their own conclusions based on the story, as a result people would not filter the story and break it down so that they can make personal connections, to me that is the point of movies.