Directed by Dave McLean
Written by Dave McLean, Khaled Spiewak, and Kyle Titterton
Starring Conor Berry, Sean Connor, Grant Robert Keelan, and Tara Lee
Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes
Available on digital January 25

by Ian Hrabe, Staff Writer

Memoirs are nothing new in the world of literature, but true autobiography in the world of cinema it’s hard to come up with someone who directed their own biopic. Sure, autobiographical elements are ever-present. The 400 Blows is based on Truffaut’s own childhood hooliganism, Fellini’s 8 ½ is loaded with autobiographical elements, and Woody Allen essentially plays Woody Allen’s psyche in every movie he starred in (with a hefty dose of unreliable narrator as we have learned in recent years). What is so unique about Schemers is that it’s a biopic of Scottish music promoter and manager of the English rock group Placebo Dave McLean written and directed BY Dave McLean. 

Given that this is McLean’s first foray into filmmaking, it’s almost a miracle that Schemers is pretty good. Sure, it has its issues, but on the whole it is an entertaining film anchored by some great performances from relative newcomers. Conor Berry—in his first film role—stars as young Davie McLean, a Scottish nogoodnik whose footballing career comes to an abrupt end when he has his leg broken by the fiancé of a woman he is shagging. In my romantic ideation of Scotland, this is the sort of thing that happens every day and a rite of passage of Scottish youth. Unsure of what to do with his life, Davie and his mates Scot (Sean Conner) and John (Grant Robert Keelan) host a disco. While this is a way to make a tidy little profit for his pals, Davie’s aim is to woo a young nurse named Shona (Tara Lee) who helped treat his broken leg. The discos led to gigs, and the successful gigs led the group to host bigger gigs at bigger venues. This involves going through the local mob, fronted by the ruthless Fergie (Alastair Thomson Mills, who makes excellent use of his limited time as the film’s heavy). 

Can you guess what happens next? I bet you can. If you guessed that the group quickly runs afoul of the mob and they have to scramble to find the cash to buy their way out of broken kneecaps, you are correct. What makes this stereotypical plotting fun though is that the physical wellbeing of the boys hinges on selling out an Iron Maiden concert. The plot on the whole leans on stereotypes, but the background of the early 80s UK music scene helps the film to overcome its rote plotting. Davie and the boys scheme their way from one venture to the next, flying by the seat of their pants, and that “how are the Duke boys going to get out of this one?” quality is a lot of fun. 

For instance, once Iron Maiden show up in their enormous tour bus, it becomes clear that Davie is totally out of his depth in regard to hosting a proper rock band. A comedy of errors unfold between Davie and Iron Maiden’s tour manager. Where is the crew to unload the gear? David runs out and grabs some local homeless men. Where is the catering? Davie calls his mum and dad and they work on fulfilling the band’s rider. Who is the opening band? Davie gets on the phone to his contacts. Chaos is Davie’s baseline, and his ability to just skate  by does a lot of the heavy lifting for his character. 

The most interesting thing is how McLean creates a completely subjective version of his own personal history. Typically in biopics you have a proper film director telling the story, but in McLean’s case he’s allowed to make himself look as cool as he wants. This is why, despite Davie coming off as a total asshole throughout the film he still gets the hero’s treatment. And honestly, there’s something kind of fun about that on a meta level. Plus it’s something we all do. I can personally recall a cursed trip to Chicago in my early 20s with my best friend. It involved getting locked out of the place we were crashing in the middle of the night and spending the vast chunk of the early morning hunkered down in an all-night diner where they blared 80s music at us and the snow blew sideways outside. And yet talking about it in hindsight, it’s hard to take off the rose colored glasses of youth because those misbegotten adventures of being young, and from the perspective of a thirtysomething suburban dad, there’s something magical about even the worst of times. 

So sure, the narrator is unreliable, but this isn’t a documentary and I’m sure even McLean understands that even the worst and most obnoxious parts of our younger selves are kind of endearing. And though the film itself has some major pacing issues and a weird reliance on that choppy 90s slo-mo gimmick, Schemers earns a spot in the same conversation as films like 24 Party People and other films about the music industry.