Two Unicorns is a 2010
British satirical dark comedy film, directed by
Chris Morris in his directorial debut. The film, a satire following a group of homegrown terrorists from
Glasgow, stars
Sean Biggerstaff,
Euan Morton,
Billy Boyd,
Laura Main and
Martin Compston.
Plot
A group of radicalised young Scots aspire to be
SNLA dissident fighters. They are Ollie (
Sean Biggerstaff), who is critical of British society and
capitalism; his very dim-witted cousin Will (
Euan Morton); Barry (
Billy Boyd), a bad-tempered and rash English socialist; and the naive Freya (
Laura Main), who tries to train crows to be used as bombers. While Ollie and Will travel to an SNLA-affiliated training camp in the
Scottish Highlands. Barry recruits a fifth member, Harry (
Martin Compston). The training trip ends in disaster when Ollie attempts to shoot down a passing plane and destroys part of the camp; the pair are forced to flee. But, Ollie uses the experience to assert authority on his return to Glasgow.
The group disagrees about what the target should be. Barry wants to bomb a local church, while Freya suggests blowing up a tea shop because it represents “British imperialism”. Ollie’s
nationalist but
pacifist brother visits him and tries to talk him out of doing anything violent. Ollie mocks him, and squirts him with a water pistol, making him flee.
After the group begins production of the explosives, Harry is left alone to watch the safe house as Barry takes Will and Freya out to a field for a test detonation. When they return, they find Harry dancing with an oblivious neighbour (Julia Davis). The group suspects they have been compromised and transport their volatile explosives to a new location in grocery bags. Freya trips up while crossing a field and is killed in the explosion. This angers Ollie, who berates the others and leaves. Freya's head is found, tipping off the authorities, and Ollie visits the others to tell them. They reconcile, and Ollie decides to target the upcoming
London Marathon due to having access to mascot costumes. Meanwhile, armed police raid Ollie's brother's house.
The group drive to London in their costumes and prepare to attack. Will expresses doubts about the morality of their plot, but Ollie convinces him to go through with it. A
police officer approaches the group, but is satisfied and leaves after a brief conversation. Harry loses his nerve and tries to alert the officer, but is killed when Barry detonates his bomb remotely. The remaining three panic and run away, and the police start searching for them.
Ollie has a change of heart, feeling guilt about manipulating Will into dying for a cause he does not understand, and attempts to prevent the attack. Police snipers receive Ollie’s description and shoot at him, but shoot a bystander in a
Wookiee costume instead. Will is cornered by police in a
kebab shop and takes the staff hostage. Ollie contacts Will from his mobile phone and convinces him to let all but one of the hostages go. Barry finds Ollie during the phone call, snatches the phone and swallows the
SIM card, but, as Barry begins to choke, a passer-by performs the
Heimlich manoeuvre, forcing Ollie to flee before Barry's explosives are detonated.
Ollie hurries to a nearby mobile phone store to buy a new SIM card to contact Will, but leaves empty handed due to the convoluted signup process. He spots a colleague (
Craig Parkinson) and borrows his phone. He attempts to talk Will down, but his call is interrupted when the police charge in and kill the remaining hostage whom they mistake for Will. Confused, Will detonates his bomb, killing everyone in the kebab shop.
Distraught, Ollie walks into a nearby tea shop and detonates his bomb. In an epilogue, it is revealed that the police later arrested Ollie's innocent brother as a terrorist. They deflect responsibility for shooting the hostage and bystander; and that Ollie killed
Matt Lygate when misfiring his rocket in the Highland camp.