Megan Boyd was a phlegmatic Scot whose salmon fishing “flies” were so beautiful, and effective, that they became famous across the globe. American documentary-maker Eric Steel uses animation, crispy cinematography and interviews with Boyd’s protégés and friends to chart the depths of this one-of-a-kind businesswoman.
It’s stirring stuff but, annoyingly, the film’s last third is taken up with Boyd’s quasi friendship with Prince Charles. There’s very little information to go on, so Steel allows his fancy to run free (in a particularly heavy-handed bit of musing, Diana is animated to resemble a salmon). The royals feel like a fly designed to catch the viewer’s attention. Steel should have kept his nerve; Boyd, all by herself, has pulling power to spare.
