London’s Westminster Abbey is one of my favorite historic sites in the world.  With nearly a thousand years of history packed under its gothic ceiling, you can understand the appeal for a student of the past like me.  It is also a place where those previous events still live.  Every time a king or queen of England is crowned, it takes place in this church, which started its life as a Catholic place of worship.  The English do not like to be reminded of this fact, but the site is still a pilgrimage destination for Catholicism.  What the Scottish do not enjoy is the fact that the throne on which English monarchs sit houses the Stone of Destiny (2008).  In 1950, four students from the University of Glasgow decided to rectify its theft from Scotland, and their escapades are the subject of today’s film.

The only escapade we see at the start of Stone of Destiny is Iain Hamilton (Charlie Cox) going to a meeting of the Scottish Covenant Association, known simply as the Covenant.  They are a group of Scottish nationalists seeking home rule (freedom to self-govern instead of having to obey the British parliament), and their leader, John MacCormick (Robert Carlyle), is giving a speech on the subject.  Everyone is excited about the prospect of independence, but it evaporates almost as quickly when the government in London votes against Scotland detaching from the United Kingdom.  Iain is more than frustrated by the announcement.  Indeed, he wants to do something about it.  In conversing with his classmate and friend, Bill Craig (Billy Boyd), he comes up with the idea of stealing the title rock.  For the Scottish, it is more than a lump of sandstone.  It had been the foundation of their kings for centuries, but had been seized by King Edward I of England in the thirteenth century.  In London, it had also been used for coronation, but this time as a symbol of the Scotland’s subjugation.  Such gestures are not easily forgotten.  To Iain, taking it back will help the Covenant’s cause, and it is his conviction that eventually gets Bill to agree to help.  The planning commences, and they learn all they can about Westminster Abbey from Glasgow.  They also practice moving a heavy object together.  Eventually, though, Iain realizes he must make a trip to the British capital in order to get a sense of the layout firsthand.  Once he has done so, he is confident that he can complete the task.  Still, there are other needs, such as money.  To get the funds, he turns to John.  The Covenant’s figurehead is supportive of the idea, even saying that he had thought of doing it himself.  However, when Iain asks for the paltry sum of £50, John does not take the enterprise seriously.  It takes some convincing for Bill to toss Iain the note, but with the condition that they limit their contact.  With everything seemingly set, Iain chooses Christmas as the date for the heist.  Unfortunately, this is when Bill decides it is not worth the risk.  For a time, Iain thinks the scheme is off, but then John introduces him to a fellow believer, Kay Matheson (Kate Mara).  They had been familiar with each before, having been in a class together, but he had never thought her interested in him.  Now that he knows of her dedication to the cause, he tells of his desire to retrieve the stone.  She volunteers for the cause, but understands they are going to need more muscle, literally.  With this in mind, they find Gavin Vernon (Stephen McCole), who they meet in a pub picking up two people at once.  The jovial Gavin is all too eager to take part in the conspiracy.  Iain believes it will just be them three, but on the day they are to head south, Gavin brings his young friend, Alan Stuart (Ciaron Kelly).  Despite Iain’s misgiving about another person added to their cadre, Gavin reminds them that Alan has a spare car which they could use.  Thus swayed, they get to London having driven all night, and Iain wants to wait until the next day, Christmas, as planned.  However, the others suggest they do it that night, and he accedes.  Having hidden the necessary tools under his coat and clothing, Iain waits for the Abbey to close.  However, he is found by a nightwatchman and forced to leave.  Thwarted for now, the four sleep in their cars parked on the street, a move that causes Kay to come down with a cold.  At their lowest point, Alan puts forward the notion that they give up and leave.  Iain puts it to a vote, and surprisingly all four opt to stay.  They put Kay in a bed & breakfast to rest and recuperate and go back to fine-tuning their tactics.  Kay makes Iain promise to get her for the final attempt, but doing so brings the attention of the police.  Nonetheless, once the authorities go away, it is on to Westminster Abbey.  The three men break in, while Kay stays in the car.  Yet, once they remove the block from the throne, it breaks into two pieces.  Iain puts the smaller piece in the car, but they are forced to leave after a policeman finds them making out.  Iain sends Kay off with her bit and goes back to the church, not realizing he had dropped his keys.  Neither do Alan and Gavin, and they run back and forth missing one another before Iain locates the keys and the others give up.  Thankfully, Iain spots Alan and Gavin on the way out of town, but only Alan drives with Iain.  They stash the stone in a field, but a few days later Alan says they need to get it before it disintegrates.  Once they do so, with the authorities closing in on them, they decide to turn themselves in with the rock draped in the Scottish national flag.

Scotland is where the Stone of Destiny belongs, and the film’s postscript agrees with this sentiment.  It also mentioned that the conspirators were charged but never prosecuted.  It ends by saying that the object of Scottish independence currently resides in its original home, but that it is considered to be “on loan.”  This notion brings up some questions that can be answered from a Catholic perspective.  What does ownership mean?  It is a tricky thing to answer Faith-wise.  In general, we say that we are not our own.  Everything is God’s and we are simply stewards.  This includes our talents and treasure.  The eponymous object was created with human hands to be used for a human purpose.  One could ask, then, how God figures into this scenario.  After all, did God tell the ancient Scots to carve out a piece of sandstone and use it for the coronation of their rulers?  I do not know the answer to that question, and neither does anyone living.  The people who began using it for its intended purpose would have made that connection.  To that end, there is a legend that it was the same rock Jacob used to lay his head upon on his way to Haran when he dreamed of a stairway to Heaven (Genesis 28:10-17).  Sadly, the film makes no reference to a Biblical basis for its existence, and it is probably untrue anyway.  Scientists believe it had been quarried in Scone, Scotland, which can be considered a good indication that God wanted in that part of the British Isles.  In this light, it is the English who were the thieves, and Iain and company are merely remedying the situation.  For Iain particularly, it is about righting a wrong.  Normally, this Catholic does not advocate committing a crime for such an act.  Iain and his fellows are aware of the illegality of what they are doing.  The willingness to take responsibility means they own their sins, and I think they can be forgiven for what they do because of that sentiment.

Assuming they are contrite for doing so, I would assume our protagonists in Stone of Destiny were sorry enough for their action.  They are not shown to be contrite, but neither did they act as they do out of a desire to enrich themselves.  If this fact can be kept in mind, then you have a solid film.